Exploration Target Exceeds Six Kilometres Depth At Mubarakpur Deep-1 Site
BAPEX Drills Deep Gas Well In Pabna
- BAPEX accelerates deep exploration drilling in Pabna’s Mubarakpur, projecting 20 million cubic feet daily gas supply over the next two decades
- Advanced high-pressure petroleum engineering solutions and Chinese contractor CNPC are deployed to overcome previous sub-surface drilling limitations
- Piling for structural rig foundations is underway, with target timelines set for core spudding a
Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX) has commenced infrastructural works to drill an ultra-deep exploratory well in Mubarakpur, Pabna, based on geological estimates indicating a production potential of at least 20 million cubic feet of natural gas daily for 20 years. Pertinent institutional sources confirmed this status on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Without decommissioning the previous Pagla site in Santhia, technical operations have been directed toward this second exploration site located approximately five kilometres away.
According to engineering specifications, the state extraction agency will drill down to a sub-surface depth exceeding six kilometres. Mubarakpur Deep-1 Project Director and BAPEX Deputy General Manager (Operations) S A M Merajul Alam stated that land development and civil engineering structural works are active across six acres in Kuripara village, Ahmedpur Union. If technically viable, the asset will emerge as the first producing hydrocarbon well in the northern region of Bangladesh. Sujanagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mir Rasheduzzaman Rashed stated that the demarcated land has been officially transferred to BAPEX.
BAPEX technical bulletins confirm that deep-foundation piling works valued at approximately BDT 4.5 crore are ongoing to support heavy drilling rigs, with civil foundations scheduled for completion by December. Core rotary drilling is slated to commence by mid-June 2028, and subject to successful petrophysical confirmation, operational extraction is projected toward late 2028.
Addressing extreme sub-surface geological stress, Petrobangla Director (Operations and Mines) Engineer Md. Shoeb noted that a drilling attempt up to a depth of 4.5 kilometres was undertaken at Mubarakpur in 2014 with an expenditure of BDT 89 crore. However, severe reservoir pressures coupled with contemporary technological limitations required operations to be deferred. He stated that modernized reservoir engineering and deeper drilling casings will be deployed this cycle.
S A M Merajul Alam added that in December of the previous year, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) sanctioned BDT 1,136.25 crore for three ultra-deep exploratory drilling projects, encompassing Mubarakpur Deep-1. Chinese engineering enterprise CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Limited has been contracted for the directional drilling execution. The firm is currently concluding technical operations in Cumilla before mobilizing its heavy drilling masts and specialized downhole tools to Mubarakpur.
Geological exploration in the basin dates back to 1980–81 seismic surveys conducted by Petrobangla, followed by German geophysical teams in 1983–84 and multi-phase 2D/3D seismic profiling by BAPEX between 2006 and 2008. While an exploratory well spudded in Pagla in 2009 demonstrated surface flare tests, operational extraction was not sustained. Although local claims suggest direct extraction from the Pagla bore was technically feasible, BAPEX geophysicists assert that tapping the distinct deeper structural play at Mubarakpur remains scientifically essential to delineate the broader petroleum basin.
//DBTech/DOC/NAM/MIST//
