BCMCL eyes 3 untapped coal fields

Barapukuria Coal Mining Company (BCMCL), an affiliate of Petrobangla, has sought the government's permission to extract coal from three untapped coalfields in the country's northern region to bolster coal production in line with the national demands.

The fields -- Phulbari of Dinajpur, Jamalganj of Joypurhat and Khalashpir of Rangpur -- have 2,225 million tonnes of coal reserves.   

Coal from the new mines could be used to generate 5,400MW power, the BCMCL said in its proposal to the energy ministry in August last year. 

“We need less stress on gas,” said Md Aminuzzaman, managing director of the BCMCL. 

A techno-economic feasibility study has already been conducted for Khalashpir and Phulbari coalfields, by Hosaf and Asia Energy respectively, but the other one need to be analysed for viability, the proposal said.

The Geological Survey of Bangladesh has so far found five coalfields -- Parbatipur's Barapukuria, Nawabganj's Dighipara, Dinajpur's Phulbari, Joypurhat's Jamalganj and Rangpur's Khalashpur -- whose combined reserves stand at 3,300 million tonnes, which is three times the country's known gas reserves.