Bangladesh’s gas reserve to last until 2031

The country's gas reserves stand at 14.16 trillion cubic feet (tcf) as of June 2015, parliament was told yesterday.

If the current rate of extraction remains unchanged, the reserve would last until 2031, Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said in reply to lawmakers' queries.

Initially, it was thought that 27.12 billion cubic feet (bcf) gas could be extracted. Some 12.96 bcf gas was extracted until May, 2015, the minister said.

Hamid told the House that it was not possible to supply gas according to the demand and its demand would continue to increase.

“If the reserves come down for that, it will not be possible to maintain the production at constant rate,” Hamid said in a scripted reply.

With time, the production capacity of the existing gas fields will continue to reduce with the reduction of gas pressure, he added.

“Under the circumstances, it will be possible to use this gas for more than 16 years at a limited rate,” the minister observed.