Staff Reporter,
Former State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid has questioned the claim that the BNP government drilled 32 wells within seven months and added 148 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid.
He claimed that the planning, drilling and development work for several wells on the list had already begun during the Awami League government. He therefore questioned the justification for presenting the entire achievement involving these wells as a success of the current government’s first seven months in office.
Nasrul Hamid raised the questions in a Facebook post on Thursday, 8 October. Referring to a report by the state news agency on the drilling of 32 wells, he called for a comprehensive list detailing when work on each well began, when the projects were approved, how much funding was allocated and when gas was connected to the national grid.
In his post, Nasrul Hamid said drilling a new well involves much more than simply installing a rig and beginning excavation. The process includes selecting a suitable site, conducting geological and seismic surveys, carrying out feasibility assessments, securing project approval and financing, drilling, testing and eventually bringing the well into production.
He argued that even if preparatory work had already been completed, the claim that the entire process involving 32 new wells was completed within seven months should be examined carefully.
Wells under question
The former state minister named several wells in his post, including Tobgi-1, Ilisha-1, Bhola North-2, Srikail North-1, Shariatpur-1, Kailashtila-8, Sylhet-10 and Titas-24. He claimed that work on several of these wells had begun and progressed during the Awami League government.
As an example, he referred to the Ilisha-1 well and said the discovery of a gas-bearing layer there had been confirmed in April 2023. Meanwhile, drilling at Kailashtila-8 began on 11 January 2024. A report published on 24 May that year stated that drilling had been completed and preparations were under way to supply around 21 million cubic feet of gas per day from the well to the national grid.
He also stated that drilling at the Begumganj-4 (West) well had begun on 29 April 2024.
The 50- and 100-well programmes
Nasrul Hamid said his government had introduced a special programme after the Covid-19 period, taking into account the country’s gas demand and domestic production situation.
Under the programme, the target was to drill and carry out workovers on 50 wells by 2025, with the aim of adding around 648 million cubic feet of gas per day to the country’s supply.
He further claimed that there had been a plan to drill and carry out workovers on another 100 wells between 2025 and 2028. The programme was expected to have the potential to add around 985 million cubic feet of gas per day, he said.
According to him, a sector-based report published in October 2024 had stated that drilling work on 15 wells under the 50-well programme had been completed. He said the list included Tobgi-1, Ilisha-1, Bhola North-2, Srikail North-1, Shariatpur-1, Kailashtila-8, Sylhet-10 and Begumganj-4 West.
