Natural gas production from Russian gas company Gazprom-drilled wells in the country is much less than expected. This has put an obstacle to implementation of the government's mid-term planning, a top official said.
Gazprom has already completed drilling of six new onshore wells in state-run gas fields and natural gas is being supplied from five of them.
But the accumulated gas production from the five producing gas wells of Gazprom is only around 60 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).
The government assigned Gazprom for a 10-well drilling programme in April 2012, eyeing to get around 200-250 mmcfd of gas from its drilled wells.
It awarded Gazprom the work under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010 bypassing the usual tendering process to augment gas production and ensure supplies to industries, power plants and fertiliser factories, a senior Petrobangla official said.
But the lower-than-expected gas of Gazprom-drilled wells has put the government's mid-term planning in jeopardy, he added.
Hundreds of industries and many power plants are still waiting for getting new gas connections while gas supply is being rationed for all the consumers due to short supply of gas.
The onshore wells Gazprom has so far drilled include Titas-20, Titas-21, Titas-22, Srikail-3, Begumganj-3 and Semutang-6.
Natural gas is being supplied from Titas-20, Titas-21, Titas-22, Srikail-3 and Semutang-6 wells.
Of these, Titas-20 well is supplying around 10 mmcfd of gas, Titas-21 around 15 mmcfd , Titas-22 around 12 mmcfd, Srikail-3 around 16 mmcfd and Semutang-6 gas well is producing around 7.0 mmcfd of gas.
Gazprom started drilling a new well at the Shahbazpur gas field on Friday, said the Petrobangla official.
"The lower-than-expected gas production from Gazprom-drilled wells is of course an issue of concern for the government," said energy expert Professor M Tamim of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
The government's mid-term planning might have faced a setback as the consequences, said Mr Tamim, who was former Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of previous caretaker government.
The cost of drilling well by Gazprom is higher than that of state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex), said Professor Nurul Islam of the BUET.
"The government should have avoided awarding Gazprom to drill Bapex-owned wells," he said.
Gazprom received first gas in Bangladesh in May, 2013 when it was testing the Srikail-3 onshore well, located in Comilla some 86-km southeast of the capital.
Gazprom is the first foreign company in operation in Bangladesh on a contract basis.
Other international oil companies active in Bangladesh operate under production-sharing contracts (PSCs) or in joint ventures with the Bapex.
The Russian company inked deals with Petrobangla subsidiaries the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Ltd (BGFCL), the Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd (SGFL) and the Bapex to drill 10 development wells across six gas fields at a total cost of $193.5 million.
The depth of wells being drilled by Gazprom ranges from 2,900 to 4,050 metres.
Eight wells will be inclined and two will be vertical.
Gazprom has brought in two drilling rigs to complete the drilling of onshore gas wells in Bangladesh.
The Petrobangla awarded Gazprom the contract to develop the wells after Polish oil and gas explorer Poszukiwania Nastyi Gazu (OGEC) Krakow backed out after being selected in a competitive tender.
The country's natural gas output currently hovers around 2,300 mmcfd against the demand for over 2,700 mmcfd.
