US major Chevron's natural gas output in Bangladesh stood at 1.126 Bcf/d by the end of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 16.56%, with additional production from new wells and the operation of a new compression station in the transmission system helping to boost output, a senior Petrobangla official told Platts Friday.
Chevron's overall output at December 31, 2011, was 966,000 Mcf/d, according to Petrobangla data.
All three of Chevron's producing onshore gas fields in Bangladesh increased output in the past year.
Chevron's Jalalabad gas field in Block 13 was producing around 231,000 Mcf/d of gas from four wells at he end of 2012, up from 168,000 Mcf/d a year earlier.
Gas output from Chevron's Moulavi Bazar field in Block 14 by the end of 2012 had more than doubled from a year earlier.
The Bibiyana gas field in Block 12 was producing 791,000 Mcf/d by as of December 31, 2012, up from 757,000 Mcf/d a year earlier, the data showed. Chevron is the largest international oil company operating in Bangladesh, accounting for 57.01% of the country's total gas output of around 2.21 Bcf/d as of December 31, 2012.
Chevron Bangladesh has a 100% interest in the Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar fields, all located onshore in northeastern Bangladesh. The installation of a compression station at Muchai in April 2012 helped increase Chevron's natural gas output, Chevron Bangladesh president Geoffrey Strong said in April.
Chevron has increased production of natural gas by more than tenfold in the last 10 years, he said.
Despite the increase of gas production from April 30, Bangladesh currently has a gas shortfall of about 500,000 Mcf/d, with demand at over 2.70 Bcf/d.
Chevron is currently carrying out drilling programs at the onshore Bibiyana gas field in northeastern Bangladesh with the aim of increasing output further, a Petrobangla official said.
