DHAKA, Aug 13: A Bangladesh inquiry has blamed Canadian firm Niko Resources for a major gas field fire and the company will be asked to pay compensation, a government official said on Saturday.

The fire, started by a blowout in late June, is still raging at the northeastern Tengratila gas field. The blaze forced hundreds of families to flee their homes and sparked protests demanding that the government scrap its agreement with Niko.

“The inquiry committee, formed immediately after the well caught fire in June, has submitted the final report today,” government energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman told reporters.

“The report said Niko was solely responsible for the gas field fire, because they did not have sufficient equipment and preparation for drilling,” Rahman said.

“The drilling design was also faulty.”

Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Niko is the joint operator of the gas field with Bangladesh’s state-owned BAPEX, the exploration wing of the ministry of energy and mineral resources.

Rahman said Niko would be asked to compensate for the losses caused by the fire when a separate assessment committee submits its report by the end of the month.

Experts fear the entire 115 billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas reserves in the field will be lost unless the fire is stopped and leaks are plugged.

Authorities believe they will be able to put out the fire when Niko drills a relief well by the end of next month.

This is the second blowout in less than six months in the gas field in the northeastern Sunamganj district, 400 km (250 miles) from the capital, Dhaka.

Experts say at least 1.5 BCF of gas were destroyed in the first blowout on Jan. 7, but a final assessment has yet to be made.

The field was abandoned in 1982. But Niko and BAPEX started work at the site in December last year, believing it to contain substantial gas reserves.

Niko has invested more than $15 million in the field, which energy officials estimate may have 300 BCF of gas.

Bangladesh, which produces gas from 13 out of 23 discovered fields, has 15.33 trillion cubic feet of proven and recoverable gas reserves based on current estimates. —Reuters