State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) has launched a new exploration project at Mobarakpur in Pabna, citing strong prospects for gas reserves despite an earlier unsuccessful drilling attempt.
To overcome the technological limitations that hampered the previous attempt, BAPEX has contracted a Chinese company to conduct deeper exploration at the site.
Officials say repeated seismic surveys indicate that Mobarakpur holds significant gas reserves. If successful, the project would result in the first operational gas field in northern Bangladesh.
Site development is currently underway at Kuripara village in Ahmedpur union of Sujanagar upazila, with formal drilling scheduled to begin in mid-June 2028.
An earlier drilling project, undertaken in 2014 at a cost of Tk 89 crore, targeted a depth of 4.5 kilometres but failed to reach its objective because of technological limitations.
“When the project began in 2014, our target depth was 4.5km. However, high gas pressure forced us to suspend operations. Deeper exploration required technology we lacked at the time,” said Engineer Md Shoyeb, director of Production, Sharing, Operations and Mines at Petrobangla.
“Building on that experience, we have partnered with a Chinese company to drill deeper than 6km at the site for expected results,” he said.
Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) recently approved a Tk 1,136.25 crore project to drill three deep exploration wells: Shrikail Deep-1, Mobarakpur Deep-1 and Fenchuganj South-1.
Of the project cost, Tk 909 crore will come from a government loan, while BAPEX will contribute Tk 227.25 crore from its own funds.
“Previously, we relied entirely on local technology. Drilling beyond 6km requires advanced technical capabilities, which led us to partner with an international firm,” Shoyeb said.
If operations proceed smoothly, extraction could begin by late 2028, with an estimated yield of at least 20 million cubic feet of gas daily over a 20-year period.
Petrobangla conducted an initial 2D seismic survey at Mobarakpur in 1980-81, followed by another survey in 1983-84 by German firm Prakla Seismos. Both indicated the presence of gas reserves. BAPEX subsequently conducted further 2D seismic surveys in 2006-07 and 2007-08, which reinforced the findings.
SAM Merajul Alom, deputy general manager of operations and field at BAPEX and project director of Mobarakpur Deep-1, confirmed that land acquisition and site preparation are underway. Drilling is scheduled to start in mid-June 2028.
In May, BAPEX signed an agreement with CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Ltd (CCDC) for drilling at Shrikail Deep-1 in Cumilla’s Muradnagar and Mobarakpur Deep-1 in Pabna’s Sujanagar.
Official records show that the Chinese company secured a procurement contract worth $59.47 million covering drilling operations and rig foundation construction.
CCDC has already begun drilling at the Cumilla site. Once that work is completed, the team will move to Mobarakpur.
“Land development and preliminary foundation work are already underway,” said Sujanagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mir Rasheduzzaman Rashed, adding that six acres of land in Ahmedpur Mouja were acquired and handed over to BAPEX in March this year.
During a visit to Kuripara, land development work was found to be underway.
“We have initiated a Tk 5.5 crore piling project for site preparation, which began on July 27 and is expected to be completed by December,” said Md Kamrul Islam, a BAPEX site engineer.
Locals said that while the 2014 drilling project was located in Paglachandipur village of Santhia upazila, the current site at Kuripara is about 5km away.
Residents of Santhia and Sujanagar have been anticipating a local gas field for decades.
“We have heard about Mobarakpur’s gas potential since our student days. Several teams have visited the area over the years, but previous exploration efforts produced no results. We remain hopeful that this attempt will finally succeed,” said Md Shahidur Rahman, a retired college teacher from nearby Dulai village.
He said a functioning gas field would accelerate local infrastructure development while helping address the national energy crisis.
BAPEX has previously undertaken several drilling projects in northern Bangladesh, including at Gabtoli in Bogura and Mobarakpur in Pabna, but failed to achieve the expected results.
However, this time, the state-owned company is hoping to achieve a successful outcome from the new location at the Mobarakpur site.
