Production capacity to rise by 300m cubic feet per day
US oil major Chevron announced, on Monday, that it would invest $500 million in the expansion project of Bibiyana gas field, in the north-west of the country. The new project would include expansion of the gas plant, to process increased natural gas volumes from Bibiyana, three additional development wells, and an enhanced gas liquids recovery unit. Chevron Bangladesh chief Geoff Strong announced the final investment decision, at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, in the presence of finance minister AMA Muhith, adviser to the Prime Minister, Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Enamul Haque, US ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan Mozena, and top officials of the energy sector.
The project is estimated to cost about $500 million, which makes it the largest foreign investment project, ever, in the history of Bangladesh.
Welcoming the US oil giant’s contribution to the country’s energy sector, finance minister AMA Muhith said that the country was in need of huge energy to run its industries, power plants, and other sectors, and that it needed to continue its efforts to go for expansion programmes in the energy sector.
“Energy will give us the capacity to work for the welfare of the people,” the finance minister said.
“Today, we are about to touch the highest ever mark in gas production in the country’s history. But, KAFCO, CFUL, Ashuganj and Ghorashal fertiliser factories still remain shut, which means we have failed to supply sufficient gas to the industries,” he said.
The project would provide more affordable energy that would not only increase Chevron’s business in Bangladesh, but also help drive the country’s economic growth, Muhith said.
According to Chevron, the project is estimated to cost approximately $500 million and is expected to boost Chevron’s total natural gas production capacity in Bangladesh by more than 300 million cubic feet per day, to 1.4 billion cubic feet per day, and 4,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids. First production is expected in 2014.
To tap the gas into the pipeline, PetroBangla and Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) are working on the new Bibiyana-Dhanua pipeline project.
State minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Enamul Haque, said, “We need more energy to run our industries, so, we need to expedite the process to bring fresh gas to the national grid, from this field.”
Ambassador Mozena said that, as one of the finest US companies working in the energy sector for years, Chevron would make Bangladesh a golden country. Chevron is one of the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh, providing employment, and supplying nearly 50 per cent of the country’s natural gas consumption. To bring the field into production in 2007, Chevron recruited about 2,300 Bangladeshi people to work on the project. Chevron also produces natural gas from the Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar fields.
Courtesy of The Independent
