Bapex to start drilling at Mobarakpur in June

FE Team | Published: May 29, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (Bapex) is set to start its exploration drilling at Mobarakpur in Pabna to ascertain hydrocarbon potentiality in the country's northern district. Mobarakpur is located in Santhia upazila of Pabna, reports UNB.
"We've already completed mobilization of manpower and equipment to commission the drilling work. Hopefully, the drilling will start next month," Bapex managing director Md Abdul Baqi said.
Mobarakpur scheme has been the country's only hydrocarbon project in the country's northern region where so far no discovery of oil or gas was made. The country's most of the gas fields were discovered in the east and south-eastern region. Only one gas field is discovered in the southern district of Bhola.
The Bapex is very upbeat about the hydrocarbon possibility in the Mobarakpur project, which was undertaken many years before, but work is going to start now. Earlier, state-owned hydrocarbon corporation Petrobangla and a German company, Prakla Seismos, conducted the first seismic survey in 1984.
"We believe, Mobarakpur is not only potential for gas reserve, but there is the possibility of finding oil as well," said the managing director of Bapex, which already procured a new rig, Bijoy-12, to launch the drilling work at the site.
The whole exploration work has been undertaken by the government with its own funding. A total of Tk 892.6 million (89.26 crore) has been allocated for the Mobarakpur oil and gas exploration project. Bapex has acquired 8.8 acres of land for the project.
The Bapex managing director informed that the total drilling works will take four to six months time to complete. "We've a plan to go to the depth of 4500 metres in the underground through the drilling to determine the hydrocarbon possibility," he said.
He said the nature and structure of the field is something different from the country's other gas fields which mostly located in eastern and south-eastern region. That's why this project may take a few days more to reach a concluding stage.
Abdul Baqi mentioned that the Bapex has conducted 2D survey in the Mobarakpur structure and its survey results were revived a number of times to find all merits and demerits. All the indications show good prospect about the hydrocarbon potential, he said.