In the midst of a chronic shortage of gas, the government disclosure of a huge reserve of gas in southern Bhola district is undoubtedly a welcome news. The reserve was claimed to have been found close to the existing Shahbazpur Gas Field. National exploration company BAPEX's managing director has estimated that the reserve has about 0.7 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of untapped natural gas, which will complement the known reserve of about 11-12 tcf.

Any gas find over 0.4 tcf is considered economically viable for exploration. That the reserve has been found in Shahbazpur is a boon because all the necessary infrastructures for exploring the natural resource are already in place. With an annual consumption of about 1tcf, we now have a mere 12 years of the precious primary fuel supply left. Hence, BAPEX must double its efforts so that we may find other such reserves onshore. There is also a need to engage with foreign companies (like Gazprom) to fully explore our offshore areas because there is no room for complacency. The clock is ticking and it is a race against time to beef up our reserves fast.

As BAPEX managing director says it will take about seven to eight months before gas from the reserve becomes available for use. Hence, the work on preparing infrastructures for the import of LNG (liquefied natural gas) to complement the existing fuel mix must not get left behind because a big gas reserve has been discovered. We are fortunate to have found this gas reserve and hope to see more in the future.