British company finds gasfield in Bangladesh

Himalayan News Service

Dhaka, June 10:

Tullow Oil, a British oil and gas company, yesterday announced it had discovered gas in an exploration block in eastern Bangladesh. Tullow, however, said it was too early to comment on the commercial value of the discovery in its Lalmai-3 well in Block 9 near Comilla, though it showed considerable potential. Gas flowed out of the well at a rate of up to 8.6 million cubic feet a day. The company would evaluate the potential of the find after it completed the drilling of the Bangora well. The new find is located near existing pipelines, a Tullow representative said that there was a ready market for any available gas in Bangladesh.

On December 15, Tullow Bangladesh Ltd, the operator of oil and gas exploration in Block 9, began drilling its first well in the area that covers Comilla, Chandpur and part of Brahmanbaria and Dhaka districts. Tullow currently owns 30 per cent of Block 9 with state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company having 10 per cent stake. ChevronTexaco earlier owned the remaining 60 per cent that was sold out to a smaller Canadian firm, Niko Resources Limited, in October last year.