A major technical failure at the Titas-14 gas well has dealt a serious blow to the government’s emergency drive to boost domestic gas production, with the well shutting down immediately after a costly repair because of reservoir depletion and water intrusion, according to a government evaluation.
The setback emerged in the Tk 523 crore “Work-over of 7 Wells at Titas, Habiganj, Bakhrabad and Meghna Fields (1st Revision)” project, being implemented by Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL) under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
An evaluation by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) found that while the project has achieved 66 percent physical progress, the failure of Titas-14 highlights significant technical, financial and safety risks that could undermine efforts to reduce dependence on costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
According to the report, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) successfully completed the mechanical workover of Titas-14, but the well had to be shut down immediately afterwards because of rapid reservoir depletion and unexpected water intrusion.
IMED said the outcome exposes the risks of investing heavily in ageing gas wells without sufficiently assessing reservoir pressure, gas saturation and future production potential before undertaking expensive rehabilitation work.
The watchdog recommended that future workovers at Bakhrabad-6, Bakhrabad-7 and Meghna-1 should proceed only after analysing the results of CBL-VDL, CAST-V and Pulse Neutron logging tests, warning against committing large investments before confirming the technical viability of individual wells.
The evaluation identifies Bakhrabad-6 and Meghna-1 as particularly high-risk candidates because of prolonged inactivity, ageing infrastructure and a history of water intrusion. It recommends abandoning work at an early stage if diagnostic logging indicates damaged casing or insufficient recoverable gas, rather than incurring further expenditure.
As of March 2026, the project had spent Tk 209.21 crore, or 40.23 percent of its allocation, despite recording 66 percent physical progress.
IMED warned that the wide gap between physical and financial implementation could leave part of the project’s Annual Development Programme allocation unutilised unless BGFCL accelerates bill processing and fund mobilisation.
Despite the setback, the report cites notable successes. The workover of Titas-16 has been completed and the well is now producing around 13 million standard cubic feet of gas per day for the national grid.
At Habiganj-5, which had remained shut for 36 years, production doubled from 14 MMSCFD to 28 MMSCFD, enabling recovery of the Tk 63.76 crore investment within seven months.
Work is continuing at Bakhrabad-7, while Bakhrabad-6 and Meghna-1 remain dependent on the arrival of specialised imported equipment and the outcome of technical investigations before full-scale workovers can proceed.
IMED also found shortcomings in workplace safety during field inspections. Although blowout preventers and other critical well-control systems were satisfactory, inspectors observed inconsistent use of personal protective equipment, inadequate safety signage, insufficient emergency equipment and weaknesses in emergency preparedness.
About 83 percent of surveyed local and informal workers said they had witnessed accidents or safety risks during project activities.
The report further notes that BGFCL earns about Tk 1 per cubic metre of gas sold against production and operating costs of around Tk 1.65, limiting its ability to finance future investments.
It recommends strengthening reservoir management, expanding the use of modern exploration technologies, reviewing the gas pricing structure and enforcing stricter safety standards to improve the long-term sustainability of domestic gas production.
The project, financed through the Gas Development Fund and BGFCL’s own resources, is scheduled for completion by June 2027 following the first revision of its development project proposal.