Bangladesh is currently grappling with a severe Bangladeshi natural gas deficit, facing a daily domestic supply shortfall of 1,146 million cubic feet despite holding 7.63 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves.
Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood informed Parliament on Monday that the nation’s total recoverable reserves stood at that figure as of 1 January 2026. The minister was responding to a parliamentary question from Jamaat-e-Islami Member of Parliament Md Tajuddin Khan, representing the Meherpur-1 constituency, outlining the acute energy supply challenge that currently threatens domestic power generation and industrial output.
Detailing the exact scale of the shortage, the energy minister explained that current daily demand for natural gas sits at approximately 3,800 million cubic feet. This figure is based on the approved gas loads across eight distinct consumer categories, which encompass crucial economic drivers such as electricity generation and commercial manufacturing.
Against this high demand, the average daily gas supply during the 2025 to 2026 financial year up to April stood at merely 2,654 million cubic feet. This persistent fuel supply disruption highlights the urgent need to enhance domestic production to stabilise the wider economy and reduce costly reliance on imported liquefied natural gas.
To secure future energy independence and mitigate import dependency, the government has launched an ambitious domestic exploration strategy. Central to this policy decision is a mandate to execute the drilling and workover of 150 wells by the year 2031.
The minister confirmed that operations on 28 of these wells have already been completed successfully. Further project approvals and administrative preparations are currently moving forward across the energy ministry, the state-owned oil and gas corporation Petrobangla, and various subsidiary company levels to facilitate the remaining drilling initiatives.
Alongside direct drilling operations, sweeping seismic surveys are being deployed to pinpoint fresh extraction sites and commercial fuel deposits. Approximately 4,500-line kilometres of 2D seismic data have recently been acquired in Blocks 7 and 9, with the critical data processing phase currently underway.
Furthermore, the government anticipates the imminent commencement of 3D seismic surveys covering 1,450 square kilometres around the established Habiganj, Bakhrabad, and Meghna gas fields, an initiative aimed at maximising output from these legacy assets.
The exploration roadmap also includes extensive planned 3D surveys targeting highly prospective regional blocks. These operations will cover 660 square kilometres in Char Fasson of Bhola district, 650 square kilometres in Jamalpur, and 632 square kilometres surrounding the Titas, Habiganj, and Narsingdi facilities. An additional 882 square kilometres of surveying will encompass structures adjacent to the Lamigao, Lalabazar, Gowainghat, Kailashtila South, and Fenchuganj West fields. To execute this expanded mandate, the state-owned exploration firm BAPEX is actively procuring two advanced new drilling rigs equipped with capacities of 2,000 and 1,500 horsepower, respectively.
Addressing the logistical bottleneck of transporting newly discovered resources, the energy minister informed the legislative body of a major infrastructure policy shift. The government is advancing the construction of a dedicated pipeline to connect the isolated Bhola gas fields directly to the national energy grid.
The implementation of this crucial Bhola-Barishal-Jajira-Mawa-Aminbazar pipeline is already in progress, a move expected to significantly ease supply constraints, stabilise regional electricity grids, and inject vital fuel into the industrial and commercial heartlands of the country.
