Three of Six Damaged Wells of Bibiyana Gas Field Repaired

Three out of six damaged wells of the Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field were repaired and gas extractions from the repaired wells will begin soon.

Sheikh Jahidur Rahman, communications manager of Chevron, gave the information to the media.

However, he did not give information about the timeframe for repairing the rest wells.

Rahman said sand was found in one well of the Bibiyana gas field on Saturday night. The well is connected to six wells.

“That is why operations were suspended in six wells which reduced the gas production to around 450mmcfd,” he mentioned.

He said an investigation will be carried out to find out the reasons why was gas production got stopped in an unplanned way.

Chevron Bangladesh is currently the largest producer of natural gas in Bangladesh with its output from three of its onshore fields-Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar. The fields are located in blocks 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

Chevron signed PSC in November 2004 with Bangladesh's state energy agency Petrobangla and the government to explore gas in the Bibiyana field.

It started supplying natural gas commercially from the turf in March 2007 with an initial production capacity of 250mmcfd after an initial investment of $200 million.

The firm's output was increased to around 900mmcfd from October 2014 and raised further to around 1,200mmcfd from March 2015.

Chevron Bangladesh is currently getting around US$2.76 per Mcf from Petrobangla for its gas from the Bibiyana field.

Discovered in 1998, the Bibiyana field was initially estimated to have 2.40 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven recoverable gas.

But follow-up studies and development of this field have confirmed that the field is much larger than the initial assessment and with the latest estimation of 2015 Bibiyana's reserves stand around 7.0Tcf.

Petrobangla has already extended the PSC tenure for the Bibiyana field by five years with a provision of extending it by another five years to boost exploration.

The tenure of the Block 12 (Bibiyana) is expected to expire in 2034.