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Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX) has begun infrastructural work to drill an ultra-deep exploratory well at Mubarakpur in Pabna, where geological estimates indicate the potential to produce at least 20 million cubic feet of natural gas daily for 20 years.
The Mubarakpur Deep-1 well will be drilled to a depth of more than six kilometres, about five kilometres from the Pagla exploration site in Santhia.
Project Director S A M Merajul Alam said land development and civil works were underway on six acres in Kuripara village under Ahmedpur Union. If successful, the well could become the first producing hydrocarbon well in northern Bangladesh.
Deep-foundation piling work costing around Tk 4.5 crore is underway to support heavy drilling rigs, while civil foundation work is expected to be completed by December. Drilling is scheduled to begin by mid-June 2028, with extraction projected for late 2028, subject to successful exploration.
Petrobangla Director (Operations and Mines) Engineer Md Shoeb said a previous attempt to drill 4.5 kilometres at Mubarakpur in 2014 cost Tk 89 crore but was halted because of high reservoir pressure and technological limitations.
Modern drilling technology and deeper casings will be used in the new project, he said.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved Tk 1,136.25 crore in December last year for three ultra-deep exploration projects, including Mubarakpur Deep-1.
China’s CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Ltd has been appointed for directional drilling and is expected to mobilise its heavy equipment to Mubarakpur after completing work in Cumilla.
Exploration of the basin began with seismic surveys in the early 1980s, followed by further surveys by German geophysical teams and BAPEX. A well drilled at nearby Pagla in 2009 produced a surface flare during testing but failed to sustain production.
BAPEX geophysicists say exploring the deeper Mubarakpur structure is essential to assess the broader petroleum potential of the basin.