NARAYANGANJ: State Minister for Power Division Nasrul Hamid Bipu inaugurated the test extraction from newly discovered gas field at Rupganj in the district on Saturday afternoon.

Managing Director of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX), Abdul Baqi and Petrobangla chairman Dr Hussain Monsur accompanied him.

During the inaugural, the junior minister expressed hope that the new field’s gas would meet the needs of the capital and its surroundings.

However, the new gas structure is located within the newly declared Purbachal Residential Model City, an under-construction satellite town in the city’s eastern direction, planned by RAJUK, the capital’s development authority.

Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex), a subsidiary of the state-owned hydrocarbon corporation Petrobangla, has discovered the new gas field having a possible reserve of 50 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas.

BAPEX MD Abdul Baqi told banglanews that from this field the daily lifting amount would be 10-12 million cubic feet.

However, sources said that it would need to construct 4.5 km of pipeline to receive the gas from the field to the national distribution system.

BDST: 2100 HRS, JUN 21, 2014