Bangladesh’s flagship 150well drilling program has achieved only about onethird of its targeted increase in natural gas production after four years, as declining output from ageing gas fi elds continues to outweigh new production, increasing the country’s dependence on imported liquefi ed natural gas (LNG).
According to offi cial data and a recent presentation submitted to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), the program has added only 126 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to the national grid, representing just 35.6 percent of its Development Project Proposal (DPP) target of 353 MMCFD.
Over the same four-year period, however, natural gas production from state-owned fi elds has declined by 140 MMCFD, with output falling to 709 MMCFD as of July 7, 2026, from 849 MMCFD recorded on July 6, 2022, according to Petrobangla.
The program was designed to substantially boost domestic gas production and reduce Bangladesh’s dependence on imported LNG, but production declines at mature gas fi elds have continued to erode much of the gains achieved through new drilling