The New Nation - Internet Edition

Rafiqul Islam Azad

Cairn Energy, which is exploring gas and oil in the offshore areas, has hinted at the prospect of striking 2.5 trillion cubic feet of hydrocarbon at the Magnama point

The company expects there is possibility of exploration of such quantity of gas or oil from this point under Block No 16 in the Bay of Bengal.

Sources said the Cairn Energy's optimism is based on 2-D seismic survey conducted in the area at the fag end of the four-party alliance government A senior official of the Energy Division also expected that a huge stock of gas or oil might be explored from the Magnama point

If the Cairn Energy succeeds in exploration of gas or oil there it will dig an appraisal well to asses the quantity of stock available at the site. Then, the company will conduct 3-D seismic survey early next year and dig a exploration well there, according to sources.

The Scotish company, which explored country's only offshore gas field at Sangu, 40kms off the new site, in 1995, started exploration work at Magnama since Tuesday and it may take about 200 days to complete the work.

The company sources said the structure of gas in Magnama zone is different from Sangu. They assume that there might be two tier of gas-first one is under 10 to 12 thousand feet and other is located under 15 thousand feet The sources also assume that there is high temperature and pressure of gas there. For this it needs to use heavy rig to explore gas and oil at the point instead of the traditional one.

Sources said five assisting ships including rigs and a helicopter have already reached Bangladesh to explore gas and oil at Magnama point in the Bay of Bengal. The Cairn will invest US$ 117 million to explore gas and oil at this point

A senior official of the Petrobangla, the only state-owned oil gas company, said if the Cairn succeeds to explore huge stock of gas or oil at Magnama point expected they are to get good response in the third phase of tender from different International Oil Companies (IOCs). He expects that the third phase of tender can be floated by December next

Sources said if gas is explored at the zone it would be connected with the Sangu Field through pipeline and will be brought to the Sangu Gas Processing Plant

A 2.5km long bypass pipeline has to be set up from Silimpur to Chitagong to supply gas using the existing line of Sangu Gas Filed.