Lesson 1/44 min
Natural gas: the core facts
The main mineral resource
- Natural gas is Bangladesh's main and most valuable mineral resource
- Most gas is used to generate electricity
- The main component of natural gas is methane; Bangladesh's gas is about 95%–99% methane
- First gas field discovered: 1955, at Haripur, Sylhet
- Gas extraction first began: 1957
- First gas field found at sea: Sangu (Chattogram); the two offshore gas fields are Sangu and Kutubdia
- Largest gas field, and the one yielding the most gas: Titas (Brahmanbaria)
- Dhaka city's gas supply comes from the Titas field in Brahmanbaria
More gas-field facts
- Sunetra gas field: in Sunamganj and Netrokona; discovered by BAPEX
- BAPEX also discovered the Sundalpur gas field
- The Sangu field lies in Block 16; its gas reached the national grid in 1998
- The Bakhrabad gas field is in Cumilla
- Magurchhara gas field: Kamalganj, Moulvibazar; severe blowout and fire in 1997; the driller was Occidental (USA)
- Blowouts at the Tengratila gas field in 2005; the Canadian company Niko was working there
- BAPEX has had the greatest success in finding oil and gas
Statistics (from Khandokar's GK; production counted to 2018)
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total blocks | 28 |
| Gas fields (as the book counts) | 29 |
| Fields in production | 20 |
| Not yet in production | 2 (Kutubdia and Bhola North) |
| Production stopped | 5 (Sangu, Chhatak, Kamta, Feni, Rupganj) |
| Total gas reserve | 39.8 TCF (trillion cubic feet) |
| Recoverable reserve | 27.81 TCF |
| Produced 1960–2018 | 15.94 TCF |
| Remaining reserve | 11.92 TCF |
Watch out: These figures change over time. Zubair's book prints 23 blocks and only 2 stopped fields (Chhatak, Kamta). Petrobangla's 2026 brochure gives 30 gas fields in all (28 onshore, 2 offshore), 20 in production, a total reserve of 38.21 TCF and 29.78 TCF recoverable. If an exam uses the book's numbers, answer with the book's numbers.
Check yourself
Which gas field was the first to be discovered in Bangladesh, and when?
At a glance
- 1
The main mineral resource is natural gas; most of it is used to generate electricity.
- 2
The first gas field is Haripur (Sylhet): discovered in 1955, extraction from 1957.
- 3
The first offshore gas field is Sangu; the two offshore fields are Sangu and Kutubdia.
- 4
The largest gas field is Titas; Dhaka's gas comes from Titas.
- 5
The main component of natural gas is methane (about 95%–99%).
- 6
The Magurchhara blowout was in 1997; the Tengratila blowouts in 2005.