Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit yesterday said Srikail-5 well in Cumilla will be able to supply an average of around 8 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid.
He said the gas field is expected to yield a significant amount of gas over the next 10 years, with an es-timated current market value of about Taka 6,832 crore.
If this gas had to be imported, it would have created significant pressure on the country’s foreign curren-cy reserves, he said.
He made the remarks yesterday while addressing the inauguration ceremony as the chief guest for sup-plying gas discovered from BAPEX’s Srikail-5 appraisal and development well to the national grid at Srikail in Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla.
Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam attended the programme as special guest while Petrobangla Chairman Md. Arfanul Hoque presided over the inauguration ceremony.
The state minister said transparency and accountability will be ensured in every activity in the energy sector so that citizens can know how their resources are being extracted and utilized.
Amit said the global energy market is currently facing instability. In particular, many countries are con-fronting supply challenges due to the crisis in the Middle East, he said adding in such a situation, the addition of new gas from a domestic gas field to the national grid is very encouraging news for Bangla-desh.
He said gas extraction from the well has been made possible through the relentless efforts of skilled en-gineers and officials of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX).
He expressed hope that their expertise and capability would further increase gas supply to the national grid in future.
Amit said according to the government’s plan, gas supply to the national grid will be gradually increased. The government is currently working with a target of adding 82 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid in the future, he said.
He said this is not merely a plan but part of a realistic action programme.
He added the government is working to reduce dependence on imported energy and achieve self-reliance in the sector by utilizing domestic resources.
The state minister informed that the country’s gas demand may reach around 4,500 million cubic feet per day in the next five years. The government plans to meet a large portion of this demand through domes-tic production, he said.
He expressed hope that through the combined efforts of BAPEX, Petrobangla, and the Energy and Min-eral Resources Division, Bangladesh will be able to achieve significant self-reliance in the energy sector within the next five years.
Senior officials of BAPEX and Petrobangla, local dignitaries and media representatives were present at the event.
