Chhatak Gas Field

Chhatak Gas Field
CountryBangladesh
RegionSunamganj
Offshore/onshore
onshore
Field history
Discovery1959

Chhatak Gas Field (Bengali: ছাতক গ্যাসক্ষেত্র) is a natural gas field located in Chhatak Upazila, Sunamganj District, Bangladesh.[1] This company is under the control of Sylhet Gas Field Company Limited (SGFL).[2] For the first time in Bangladesh, gas connection was provided to the industrial sector from this gas field in 1959.[3] In 1960, it provided approximately 4 million cubic feet of gas per day to Chhatak Cement Factory as well as Sylhet Pulp and Paper Mills.

Location

Chhatak gas field is located in Chhatak Upazila, Sunamganj district of Sylhet Division,[4] about 300 km northeast of the capital Dhaka. This gas field is basically operated by two different gas fields - Chhatak (East) and Tangrtila or Chhatak (West); Which is merged to a single field after 2001.[4]

Accidents

The field, also known as Tengratila, was the site of two major gas well blowouts in 2005, both occurring while the Canadian company Niko Resources was drilling an exploratory well under a joint-venture agreement with Bapex.[5] The first blowout, on 7 January 2005, was attributed to a failure to case a loose sand formation before the drill string was withdrawn.[5] A second, larger blowout occurred on 24 June 2005 while a relief well was being drilled to divert gas from the still-leaking first well, producing a fireball estimated at 150 to 300 ft (46 to 91 m) high.[6]

An environmental impact assessment found extensive damage to homestead forest, wildlife and groundwater in the surrounding area, and the incident led to a foreign-bribery scandal in which Niko gave a Bangladeshi state minister a vehicle and paid for his overseas travel, resulting in a 2011 guilty plea and fine in a Canadian court.[6][7] Bangladesh and Bapex sought roughly US$1.014 billion in compensation through arbitration at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes; in December 2025, the ICSID tribunal ordered Niko to pay US$42 million.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "টেংরাটিলার বাতাসেও গ্যাসের ঝাঁঝালো গন্ধ, জলাশয় নলকূপে অবিরাম বুদ্বুদ, স্বাস্থ্যঝুঁকিতে মানুষ হেলায় বেহাত মূল্যবান গ্যাস : পর্ব ২" (in Bengali). The Daily Ittefaq. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 Aug 2019.
  2. ↑ "Completed Project" (in Bengali). Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL). Retrieved 2 Aug 2019.
  3. ↑ Sirajul Islam, ed. (Jan 2003). banglapedia (in Bengali). Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. Retrieved 21 Aug 2019.
  4. 1 2 "ছাতক গ্যাসফিল্ড আশার আলো". The Daily Jugantor (in Bengali). 14 Aug 2019. Retrieved 21 Aug 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Tengratila Blowouts: Niko liable, must pay damages". The Daily Star. 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  6. 1 2 Rahman, M. M.; Saha, S. K.; Rahman, M. Z. (2010). "Impact Assessment of Environmental Consequences on a Blowout at Chhatak-2 (Tengratila) Gas Field, Bangladesh". Bangladesh Journal of Environmental Research. 8: 15–22. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  7. ↑ "Canadian Oil & Gas Company Fined $9.5 million for Bribery of Foreign Official". Bennett Jones. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  8. ↑ "Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Ltd. v. Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited (Bapex), Award". Jus Mundi. 2025-12-18. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  9. ↑ "Tengratila blowouts: Niko ordered to pay $42m against claim of $1b". The Daily Star. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-07-27.

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