Published : 14 Mar 2026, 08:39 PM
Updated : 28 Aug 2026, 01:33 AM
A new well at the Srikail Gas Field in Cumilla’s Muradnagar has started trial production, with 8 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) set to be added to the national grid.
State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam Amit inaugurated Well No. 5 in Srikail on Saturday.
Speaking at the event, he said the country’s energy sector had been left vulnerable by import dependence under the previous government.
“The previous government put the country’s energy sector at risk by making it import-dependent. That is why we are exposed during global crises and suffering losses,” he said.
“We want to achieve self-sufficiency by extracting gas from our own sources. If we become self-sufficient and self-reliant, it will be easier to overcome any kind of risk.”
He also said the previous government had “crippled” the state-owned exploration company BAPEX, and that the current administration wanted to strengthen its capacity and allow it to operate independently.
Amit said the gas demand in the country would rise to 4.5 billion cubic feet in the next five years, and expressed hope that Bangladesh would develop the capacity to meet that demand from its own gas fields.
Md Abdul Batin, deputy project director of the Srikail Gas Field Well-5 sub-project, said drilling began on Sept 28 last year and was completed in January.
He said the well holds an estimated 40 billion cubic feet of gas.
“Gas extraction from this well began on Saturday. With this, five wells at the Srikail gas field are now supplying 17 mmcfd to the national grid,” he said.
