Govt Targets Zero Gas Shortfall by 2030: State Minister

The government aims to eliminate the gap between gas demand and supply by 2030 by increasing domestic production, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit has said.

He said the government plans to drill 150 wells by 2030, with 29 already completed. The newly commissioned Titas-28 well is expected to contribute 12.5 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid.

The state minister made the remarks on Saturday afternoon while inaugurating commercial gas supply from Well No. 28 of the Titas Gas Field in Suhilpur, Brahmanbaria, to the national grid.

He said the government was pursuing multiple initiatives to increase domestic gas production and narrow the supply-demand gap.

“These small-scale initiatives will help meet demand. By increasing production, we aim to bring the gap between demand and supply down to zero by 2030,” he said.

Drilling of Titas-28 began on December 15 last year and was completed on May 27. Trial gas supply from the well to the national grid began on June 19, while commercial supply started following Saturday’s inauguration. Around Tk200 crore worth of gas had already been supplied during the trial period, according to officials.

Project Director Jasim Uddin Munna said the well has a wellhead shut-in pressure of 3,600 psi and a flowing pressure of 2,100 psi. The well is expected to remain productive for an extended period, he said.

The 3,601-metre-deep well was drilled by Chinese contractor CCDIC at a total cost of around Tk200 crore, including VAT and income tax. It will currently produce and supply 12.5 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid.

Work is also progressing on Titas-29, Titas-30, Titas-31 and Bakhrabad-11. Officials expect these four wells to add another roughly 55 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid within the next three to four months. Together with Titas-28, the five wells could contribute up to about 67.5 million cubic feet per day.

The minister said increasing domestic production would help reduce pressure from costly imported LNG and strengthen the country’s energy supply.