Gas crisis eases as production resumes at Bibiyana gas field

Gas supply situation has slightly improved as production resumed at one of the two affected process trains at the Bibiyana gas field.

Both the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and the Chevron Bangladesh have confirmed the improvement in the gas production and supply levels.

According to a release of the ministry, the gas production at the Chevron gas field has increased to 1010 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) which had gone below 800 MMCFD following the technical fault at the process system.

It is expected that the production at the gas field will reach 1100 MMCFD by Tuesday evening against its actual capacity 1200 MMCFD, said the ministry.

“After the relentless work of our experienced engineers, we are slowly beginning to overcome the crisis”, it said, adding that different areas had to experience gas shortage due to the emergency repair works at the Bibiyana gas field following a technical glitch.

The ministry expressed its gratitude to its gas consumers for their patience during the crisis period.

Meanwhile, Chevron Bangladesh in a separate statement said  it is making progress in returning the Bibiyana Gas Plant to full capacity, with production at one of the two process trains affected at the plant and four wells in the field already resumed.

The plant is running at a reduced rate after suspension of operations at two of its five trains and six production wells in the field on April 3 following the discovery of some technical anomalies.

Safety of workers, nearby communities and protection of the environment are top priorities for teams working to bring the second train and all remaining wells back online. The cause of the unplanned shutdown will be investigated.

Officials at the Petrobangla and Titas Gas Company, however, said it will take some more time to fully normalize the situation as there is still a shortage in gas production and Supply.

“Situation will be further improved when a container ship with imported LNG will reach the country within next week and its supply comes to the network”, said a senior official of Perobangla.

The country’s gas production drastically fell by about 450 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) on Sunday, the very first day of Ramadan, following a technical fault developed in the Bibiyana gas field.

Officials said the gas field process system noticed that sand was coming out from two production wells which forced the authorities concerned to halt the production of the wells.

The incident had a big impact on the overall gas production as many areas experienced disruptions following the fall in the pressure of gas supply as an outcome of the fault.

The major impact was on the power generation as the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had to shut down a good number of power plants immediately which led to load shedding at different districts across the country.