CAPITAL: DHAKA
MONETARY UNIT: TAKA
REFINING CAPACITY: 33,000 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 3,300 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 56.9 MILLION BBL.
GAS RESERVES: 10.6 TCF

Bangladesh had proven gas reserves of 10.6 tcf but was believed to have resources four times that.

The US and other nations had urged Bangladesh to export its surplus gas production. Bangladesh officials had been unwilling to approve gas exports unless their nation had proved reserves sufficient to meet domestic demand for at least 50 years.

The US pledged to help Bangladesh survey its hydrocarbon resources so the government could decide whether to encourage exploration by foreign oil firms and whether to allow exports.

The consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, Edinburgh, issued a report in 2000 stating that a gas pipeline from Bangladesh appeared to be the most viable alternative to LNG for supplying India's growing energy needs.

It said a pipeline would be the most economically promising option for Bangladesh to realize value from its gas resources and earn foreign exchange with India. It said liquefied natural gas exports would be less economical.

Two pipeline routes had been proposed, but Bangladeshi reserves could support only one of them. Wood Mackenzie said Bangladesh producers Royal Dutch/Shell and Unocal Corp. had both expressed interest in a pipeline from their fields to India, possibly jointly.

India's National Thermal Power Corp. proposed a 2,000-Mw power plant in Bangladesh to export electricity to India, but it faced competition from a proposed coal-powered plant in India's Orissa state.

Analyst Fereidun Fesharaki, with the East-West Center, said at 2000 production levels, Bangladesh had enough gas reserves to meet domestic demand for 38 years.

He said Bangladesh could meet India's gas needs in West Bengal and, if necessary, New Delhi. Both areas are near Bangladesh.

He said Bangladesh could earn up to $1.7 billion/year by exporting gas to India, offsetting up to 70% of the country's trade deficit.

Fesharaki said pipeline gas from Bangladesh to New Delhi would cost 55-75¢/MMbtu less than LNG imports, a potential savings of $400 million/year for India.

Unocal Corp. received a production sharing contract to explore a gas-prone block on the southern coast of Bangladesh.

Its partners on Block 7 were Petrobangla, the state oil and gas company, and its subsidiary Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.

Unocal was producing 100 MMcfd from Jalalabad field in the northeast.