US multinational Chevron carrying out works

Some 50-60mmcfd new gas could be fed to national grid

M AZIZUR RAHMAN | Published: April 11, 2026 23:32:12

American energy-giant Chevron gets down to carrying out work to build a compression station near onshore Jalalabad gas field to harness additional gas into Bangladesh's national gas grid, at time when the country runs short of fuels.
Additional gas from the facility is expected to be available within the next two years by 2028, official sources say.
"The US company is now carrying out works to build the compression station under Jalalabad Compression (JBC) project," Petrobangla Director (Finance) AKM Mizanur Rahman told The Financial Express on Saturday.
He says the project cost is around US$70 million or Tk 8.54 billion and expected to be completed within 30 months of initiating the construction.
Sources say Chevron Bangladesh initiated work on its stalled JBC in Bangladesh after two years of its initial plan to execute the project.
Chevron Bangladesh is now mobilising necessary equipment and manpower for the JBC project, says an industry insider.
Chevron's Jalalabad gas field is currently producing around 127 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas from seven producing gas wells, which represents around 47.03 per cent of their combined production capacity of 270 mmcfd, according to official data of Petrobangla.
Once the JBC project is completed, some additional gas, to the tune of around 50-60 mmcfd, could be added to the gas-hungry national grid, and gas supply from Jalalabad and its adjoining onshore gas fields might sustain for a longer period, says a senior official of Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR).
The project could unlock around 280 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of additional gas from the Jalalabad field.
"After the project's implementation, it will significantly arrest the declining production trend," the official hopes.
Sources have said Petrobangla had long urged Chevron Bangladesh, a part of global energy company Chevron, to proceed with the investment, which will be recovered under the cost-recovery option of the production-sharing contract (PSC) inked between the parties, says the Petrobangla top official.
The IOC also had responded positively but stalled the plan in 2024 due to non-payment of outstanding bills.
After the clearing of all outstanding bills -- including late -payment interest -- Petrobangla wrote again to Chevron Bangladesh in April 2025, requesting the resumption of its stalled investment in the JBC, and the US company responded accordingly.
The delay in implementing Chevron's JBC project has already slowed the government efforts to boost domestic energy output, says the official, in reference to the ongoing fuel crunch caused by the Middle East war situation disrupting global energy- supply chains.
"Bangladesh is urgently seeking new investments and exploration opportunities amid dwindling gas reserves and rising LNG subsidies," says the corporation official.
Domestic gas production has fallen below 1,800mmcfd -- the average production levels in 2008-09 -- after peaking in fiscal 2016-17, according to official data.
The country's highest-ever production was 2,786mmcfd recorded on May 6, 2015.
Failure to complete it on time, he warns, would lead to a sharp drop in gas output, undermining efforts to extend production from blocks 13 and 14.
Chevron currently produces about 950 mmcfd of gas from its three onshore fields -- Bibiyana, Jalalabad, and Moulvibazar -- located in blocks 12, 13, and 14.
This accounts for roughly 55 per cent of Bangladesh's total domestic gas output of around 1,698mmcfd, according to Petrobangla data as of April 9, 2026.
Bangladesh's natural gas demand is around 4,000mmcfd, according to Petrobangla.
To meet the growing demand amid dwindling domestic output, Bangladesh's imported LNG demand is mounting to meet the growing needs in industries, power plants, and other gas-guzzling consumers as the domestic natural gas supply declines, according to the Petrobangla official.
Petrobangla has been struggling to arrange LNG from global suppliers amid the persistent Middle East crisis and volatile oil and gas prices on the international market.
The country's overall natural gas output is currently hovering around 2,656mmcfd inclusive of 952mmcfd re-gasified LNG, according to official Petrobangla data as of April 9, 2026.
Azizjst@yahoo.com