A newly drilled well at the Titas Gas Field in Brahmanbaria is set to add around 12.5 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) to the national grid amid the country’s ongoing gas shortage.

The authorities will formally inaugurate Titas-28 well at Location-C in Suhilpur of Brahmanbaria at noon

on Saturday. The authorities plan to connect the well to the national grid immediately after the inauguration.

According to Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL), State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit will inaugurate the well at around 12:00pm. Energy Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder and senior officials from the ministry and relevant agencies will attend the programme.

Officials said drilling of Titas-28 was completed about a month ago. The well has a depth of around 13,000 feet, or 3,962 metres.

Following the inauguration, the well will supply around 12.5mmcfd of gas to the national grid.

Officials concerned said the additional gas from a domestic source could provide some relief to the national gas supply system while also helping reduce pressure arising from dependence on imported gas.

Meanwhile, the authorities have undertaken a project at a cost of around Tk800 crore to drill Titas-28, Titas-29, Titas-30 and Kamta-2 wells.

Drilling of Titas-29 has already been completed, and the authorities plan to bring the well into production within the next one to one-and-a-half months after completing ancillary work. Work on Titas-30 is also progressing.

Drilling of Titas-31, a deep exploration well, is also under way. Officials hope to complete the work within the next two to three months if they encounter no geological complications. The well could produce around 15mmcfd of gas.

According to officials concerned, Titas-29, Titas-30 and Titas-31, along with Bakhrabad-11, could add around 67.5mmcfd of gas to the national grid within the next three to four months once they begin production.

The 12.5mmcfd from Titas-28 will be added to that supply.

Engineer AKM Jasim Uddin, project director for the Titas-28 drilling project, said drilling of the well had already been completed and it could supply around 12.5mmcfd of gas to the national grid.

“After the formal inauguration, the gas will be connected to the national grid following the necessary procedures,” he said.

He expressed hope that the additional gas from the new well would help ease the country’s ongoing gas shortage to some extent.