DHAKA, June 24: A blow-out at the Tengratila gas field in Shunamganj on Friday, gave rise to fears that it might have damaged the entire gas reservoir of 115 billion cubic feet. The explosion, which created a fireball that leapt over 200 feet, occurred at around 3am during drilling of a relief well to divert gas from the original well, which exploded on Jan 7 and had been leaking gas ever since.

Terming the blow-out a huge disaster, experts blamed delay in drilling the relief well and negligence on the part of Canadian company Niko Resources, which operates the field in collaboration with the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company, for the explosion.

“The January blow-out had already damaged the field. There is a possibility that the gas reservoir would be abandoned as it might be impossible to extract gas from the reservoir,” said an expert who visited the field after the explosion.

The Tengratila reservoir located in the Chhatak Gas Field has an estimated gas reserve of 115 billion cubic feet. The estimated reserve of the Chhatak field is 305bcf.

The explosion occurred when the rig reached 433 metres deep and lost control due to heavy pressure of gas, said sources in the Petrobangla.