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Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
is the sixteenth-largest producer of natural gas in Asia. Gas supplies meet 56% of domestic energy demand.U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
/ref> However, the country faces an acute
energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...
in meeting the demands of its vast and growing population. Bangladesh is a net importer of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
and
petroleum products Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. The m ...
. The energy sector is dominated by state-owned companies, including Petrobangla and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.
Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...
,
ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
,
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...
,
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...
and
ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by the ...
are major international companies engaged in Bangladesh's hydrocarbon industry, with
Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...
's gas fields accounting for 50% of natural gas production. Geologists believe the country's maritime exclusive economic zone holds one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific.Bangladesh: Asia’s New Energy Superpower? , The Diplomat
/ref>
Protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulation ...
and a lack of technical capacity have impeded Bangladesh's potential to emerge as a major global
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...
producer. Two LNG Terminal and a gas pipeline will be created to ease the Bangladesh gas shortage.


History

The Indo-Burma Petroleum Company drilled the first oil wells in Eastern Bengal between 1908 and 1914 in
Chittagong District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is l ...
.Gas, Natural – Banglapedia
/ref> The
Burmah Oil Company The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed "Burmah-Castrol". BP Amoco (now BP) purchased the company in 2000. History ...
discovered the first gas field in
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = Ea ...
in 1955. Industrial use of natural gas began in 1959. The
Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...
and
Pakistan Petroleum Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. It was incorporated on 5 June 1950, when it inherited the assets and liabilities of the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. which initially holds 70% of the share with ...
discovered seven major gas fields in the 1960s. After the
Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...
, the first government of Bangladesh led by
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...
, with Dr.
Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
as Minister of Energy, enacted the Bangladesh Petroleum Act in 1974. The government welcomed many
international oil companies Big Oil is a name used to describe the world's six or seven largest publicly traded and investor-owned oil and gas companies, also known as supermajors. The term, particularly in the United States, emphasizes their economic power and influence ...
to explore the country. It established Petrobangla as the national mineral resources company. Petrobangla accelerated exploration activities in 1980s and discovered nine major gas fields; and also established the first commercial oil facility in Haripur in 1986. The Jalalabad, Maulvi Bazar, Bibiyana and Bangura-Lalmai gas fields were tapped in the 1990s by numerous multinational oil and gas companies, including
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
and
Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...
. The energy giant
Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...
acquired the assets of
Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...
in Bangladesh in 2005.


Offshore exploration

In 1974 the government awarded seven shallow water offshore blocks on the
continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
of Bangladesh to six international oil companies. However, these companies left Bangladesh in 1978 amid technical difficulties and
political instability Political decay is a political theory, originally described by Samuel P. Huntington, which describes how chaos and disorder can arise from social modernization increasing more rapidly than political and institutional modernization. Huntington provid ...
. Oil was their primary target and early exploration indicated that the area possessed gas rather than oil. The world petroleum scenario had since changed and interest in gas exploration increased among IOCs, despite challenges in offshore deep water exploration. In 1998, the Bangladeshi government awarded four shallow water blocks for to a new group of IOCs.
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
,
Cairn Energy Capricorn Energy PLC (previously Cairn Energy PLC) is a British oil and gas exploration and development company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Capricorn has discovered and extracted oil and gas in a variety of locations around the ...
and Santos operated the offshore Sangu gas platform. Since 2009, the Bangladeshi government has launched bidding rounds for awarding
oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
blocks.
ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
and
Tullow Oil Tullow Oil plc is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland, with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. His ...
won the first round of bids. The victory of Bangladesh over Myanmar in securing maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal has increased the number of exploratory blocks in the Exclusive Economic Zone to 27. According to
Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
professor, Bangladesh is neither floating on gas or about to run out of it, rather Bangladesh's gas fields are unexplored which can be a major source of local gas supply.


Geography

The Bengal delta has a hydrocarbon-bearing
sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand ...
structure with rich mineral deposits. The northeastern
Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...
is the country's largest natural gas and crude oil producer, followed by
Chittagong Division Chittagong Division, officially known as Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the south-easternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population at the 2 ...
,
Dhaka Division Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...
and
Barisal Division Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...
; while dozens of offshore blocks lay in the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...
. Natural gas from Bangladesh is renowned for being very pure with a composition of 95–99% methane and almost no sulphur.


Industry

As of 2015, the natural gas reserves of Bangladesh is 14.16 trillion cubic feet. The country has an average daily natural gas production of around 2,700 million cubic feet. The Bibiyana gas field in
Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succ ...
is the country's largest gas field. Oil production in 2013 was 4,500 bbl/d against a demand of 119,000 bbl/d. The
downstream Downstream may refer to: * Downstream (bioprocess) * Downstream (manufacturing) * Downstream (networking) * Downstream (software development) * Downstream (petroleum industry) * Upstream and downstream (DNA), determining relative positions on DNA ...
sector in Bangladesh remains relatively under-developed. Petrobangla is the principal energy company in Bangladesh. Its subsidiary, the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX), is responsible for exploration activities. International oil companies must sell natural gas to Petrobangla at a government-determined price and are restricted in their ability to sell natural gas to customers directly. The gas distribution network is dominated by the
Titas Gas The Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company ( bn, তিতাস গ্যাস ''Titas Gas'') is the natural gas distributor in Bangladesh, with an 80% market share. As of 2020, they employed 2,100 staff and served 2.8 million domesti ...
company, as well as regional companies in North Bengal and Sylhet. Due to the energy crisis in recent years, Bangladesh has planned to import gas from
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
to meet demands in the short-term. The country's first LNG Terminal will be built in Matarbari,
Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; bn, কক্সবাজার, Kôksbajar; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in Southeastern Bangladesh. It is located south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the n ...
for imports and will be a floating facility. Bangladesh plans to build a permanent LNG Terminal on
Maheshkhali Island Moheshkhali Island is the main island of Moheshkhali Upazila, in the Cox's Bazar District Cox's Bazar ( bn, কক্সবাজার জেলা , ''Cox's Bazar Jela'' also ''Cox's Bazar Zila'') is a district in the Chittagong Division of ...
in the future.
Compressed Natural Gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...
(CNG) is widely used by vehicles in Bangladesh. The
Eastern Refinery Eastern Refinery Limited or ERL is the sole country-owned oil refinery in Bangladesh. ERL, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, plays a vital role in supplying around 40% of country's current petroleum products demand and thus mainta ...
in Chittagong is the country's largest
oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...
. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation is the
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public owne ...
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
which regulates the market for
petroleum products Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. The m ...
through its subsidiaries: the
Jamuna Oil Company Jamuna Oil Company Ltd (JOCL) (estd. as Pakistan National Oil in 1964; renamed as Bangladesh National Oil in 1972) ( DSEbr>JOCL is a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation that nationally markets octane, petrol, diesel, kerosene, furn ...
which is the country's largest distributor and was established in 1964 as Pakistan National Oil Limited; the
Padma Oil Company , logo = , logo caption = , type = Registrar with joint stock company as a Public limited company under Company Act 1913 , industry = Petroleum, , fate = , predecessor = Burmah Oil Company , successor = , founded = , founder = , d ...
which was formerly known as Burmah Eastern Limited, a subsidiary of Burmah Oil until 1977; and Meghna Petroleum.Meghna Petroleum Limited
/ref>


See also

* Burmah Oil * Petrobangla *
Padma Oil Company , logo = , logo caption = , type = Registrar with joint stock company as a Public limited company under Company Act 1913 , industry = Petroleum, , fate = , predecessor = Burmah Oil Company , successor = , founded = , founder = , d ...
* Meghna Petroleum Limited * Climate change in Bangladesh *
Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...


References

{{Asia topic, Petroleum industry in Energy in Bangladesh Natural gas in Bangladesh Petroleum in Bangladesh