Dhaka, Oct 2 (UNB) - Chevron, a US-based international oil company (IOC), has planned to start its gas exploration drilling in Block-7 located in the country’s southern region.

Petrobangla officials said they were working closely with the IOC and expecting a good reserve in the Block-7 which is eventually may be about 1 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas.

Now, the state-owned Petrobangla and Chevron are in discussions to finalize a comprehensive work plan for its drilling programme.

According to the plan, the preparatory work for the drilling, which include preparing a drilling pad and installation of a drilling rig in Galachipa area, will complete before the end of dry season of 2010.

On completion of the preparatory work, the drilling will finally start in the fourth quarter of 2010.

In July last, Chevron completed the major part of the two-dimensional (2D) seismic survey in block-7 which covered the onshore areas, including part of Barisal, Patuakhali, Bhola and Barguna districts.

According to official sources, the 2D survey consists of a total area of 450 km seismic line. Of this, a 240-km line is in the onshore areas, while the remaining 200 km are in the offshore area. The whole seismic work is expected to be completed by the yearend.

Petrobangla officials said the 2D seismic survey result of the Block-7 may bring some good news for the energy sector, as the country has been experiencing a nagging energy crisis.

Petrobangla Chairman M Muktadir Ali said they hope that the structure in the Block-7 may have 1 TCF of gas reserve. “If the gas structure has about 1 TCF gas, then we can produce gas about 250 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) to meet a good demand in the country’s southern region,” he told UNB.

He said the initial survey findings had indicated that the reserve might be about 455 billion cubic feet (BCF). But after the 2D survey, the reserve expectation has risen to about 1 TCF.

If gas is found, officials said, it will take four to five years to start gas production from the field.

Chevron Bangladesh, which is now operating in three gas fields across the country, launched the seismic survey in the Block-7 in March this year to delineate potential gas reserves and initiate subsequent exploration as part of its agreement with Petrobangla.

Chevron had earlier relinquished 25 per cent of the exploration acreage of the Block-7 areas to Petrobangla in accordance with the PSC.

In June 2008, Chevron Bangladesh Block Seen Ltd, a sister concern of the Chevron Bangladesh, signed an addendum to the production sharing contract (PSC) for the Block-7 with Petrobangla to conduct the survey.

Chevron Bangladesh has 90 per cent stake as the operator, while the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) owns the remaining 10 per cent in the Block-7.

Chevron will undertake all exploration risk under the PSC, while BAPEX would be responsible for its share of costs only after commercial discovery of gas and initiation of the output.

Chevron is currently producing about 45 percent of the country’s total gas consumption of 1900 million cubic feet per day from its three fields -- Jalalabad, Moulvibazar and Bibiyana.