BAPEX to purchase drilling rig by April

FHM Humayan Kabir

State-run petroleum exploration company BAPEX will purchase another drilling rig by April next year for the purpose of workover of gas wells, officials said Saturday.

Beijing-based Chinese company CATIC will supply US$7.0 million rig to BAPEX by April next year.

"A deal between BAPEX and the Chinese company has been signed in the middle of this month," Amzad Hossain, general manager of the BAPEX, told the FE.

The new rig will boost the capacity of BAPEX as it has over 25-year old workover rig, which has lost its efficiency, he said.

A senior energy division official said the government has tried to strengthen capacity of the country's lone energy exploration company BAPEX.

BAPEX has already procured a rig having drilling capacity of 5000 metres, he added.

BAPEX has imported the sophisticated drilling rig early this month from another Chinese company. The rig will be shifted to Fenchuganj field for producing gas in two wells.

The Chinese Sichuan Hong Hua Petroleum Equipment Co (Shhpec) has supplied the "2000 HP" modern rig at a cost of Euro 19 million. The money has been paid from the government coffer.

The last caretaker government had allocated Tk32 billion funds for seven years to BAPEX aiming at boosting its energy exploration and production capacity.

The BAPEX has already undertaken schemes to explore oil and gas in different potential fields and development works at the discovered gas structures.