Gas hope for winter
The country's gas supplies have jumped up noticeably as American oil giant Chevron has nearly completed a massive expansion project in the large Bibiyana gas field and begun pumping additional gas from a few days back.
While gas supplies hovered around 2,300 to 2,350 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) -- lagging an estimated 500 mmcfd behind the demand that affects home burners to power generation -- the additional gas has pumped up the supplies close to 2,400 mmcfd, Petrobangla said.
Chevron is completing the half-a-billion dollar expansion scheme a month ahead of the schedule and this would be the biggest expansion scheme in any gas field in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate it next month.
Petrobangla officials say once the expansion project starts operating in full swing, it will add 300 mmcfd to the national grid by the first quarter of next year, helping the government overcome the decade-long gas crisis to a great degree. Presently, Bibiyana is pumping out 50 mmcfd new gas.
Gas supply situation worsens every winter as low temperature freezes a natural gas by-product “condensate” in the transmission pipeline, narrowing gas flow. However, the outlook this winter appears better because of increased production on one hand, and also launching of two new gas compressor stations in the national grid. The compressor stations are supposed to stabilise gas flow pressure.
The officials noted that they expect an overall improvement at consumer level -- from home users to commercial users -- this winter.
This also makes Bibiyana a monster gas producer, accounting for almost half of the country's gas production (around 1,100 mmcfd). In contrast, the country's oldest and large Titas field produces around 520 mmcfd. Many experts criticise such high volume of production saying it would damage the gas structure of Bibiyana field, leading to its untimely death.
“This is not true. Chevron has found more gas by drilling in new areas in Bibiyana,” said a well-placed Petrobangla official.
A few months ago, Petrobangla certified Bibiyana to have one trillion cubic feet (tcf) more recoverable gas than the previously certified 4.2 tcf. As per Petrobangla's analysis Bibiyana's gas flow pressure was expected to decline from 2023 unless more new gas was found, he noted.
“I wonder how much these critics really know about Bibiyana,” says Chevron Bangladesh chief Geoff Strong. “Bibiyana is a large gas field, with the capacity to safely deliver more energy to the nation. Protecting the reservoir is very important to us. It is done not only by following international good practices but also Chevron's high standards.”
Strong noted, “The Bibiyana Expansion project was approved by Petrobangla and it is consistent with our Gas Sales Agreement.”
Discovered in late nineties, the Bibiyana field started gas production from 2007. Its expansion project began in mid-2011.
“Despite many problems we faced in the last three years, the expansion progressed as per the plan. We have had good safety performance. We also supported the local community with jobs and business opportunities. We hired rice farmers and turned them into expert scaffolding workers,” the Chevron chief added.
Under the expansion scheme Chevron has drilled 14 new wells. Once the expansion is completed, not only Bibiyana would produce a staggering 1,100 mmcfd gas but also an additional 4,000 barrels of condensate (a liquid fuel) as a gas by-product worth $175 million a year. It already produces similar quantity of condensate that is processed into petrol, diesel and kerosene for the country's consumption.
The government has meanwhile installed a new pipeline from Bibiyana to Dhanua to transmit this additional gas to the national grid.
Chevron is also working on increasing production from its Jalalabad field from late next year or early 2016 by drilling and producing gas from three new wells. This will increase gas production by 70 to 90 mmcfd.
“I have never worked in a place that has made me so proud to be a part of the wellbeing of a nation. We produce around half of Bangladesh's total natural gas, and this gas is approximately 80% less expensive than imported diesel fuel, fuel oil or LNG. This low-cost energy is driving economic progress and positively impacting the livelihood of millions of people,” notes Strong, who lauded Chevron's high standard of operation in Bangladesh.
Comments