Oil:The only oilfield of the country has been discovered at Haripur in 1986 that is located near Haripur in the eastern hilly district of Sylhet, but these have yet to be developed. The Haripur reserves are estimated at 40 Mbbl, with a recoverable reserve of about 6 million barrels and the total resource is likely to be much higher. For meeting the total requirement of commercial energy, Bangladesh imports yearly about 1.3 million metric tons of crude oil.
Coal:As well as natural gas, Bangladesh has significant coal reserves. Coal first discovered in the country by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in 1959 was at great depth. geological survey of Bangladesh (GSB) continued its efforts for exploration that resulted in the discovery of 4 coalfields. BHP Minerals, a US-Australian the company, discovered a field in 1997 totaling 5 coalfields. Coal reserves of about 3.3 billion tons comprising 5 deposits at depths of 118-1158 meters have been discovered so far in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The name of these deposits are-Barapukuria, Phulbari, and Dighipara coalfield in Dinajpur district, Khalashpir in Rangpur district, and Jamalganj in Joypurhat district. Out of which 4 deposits (118-509 meters) are extractable at present. As an alternative fuel to natural gas, coal can be extensively used. The depth of the Jamalganj coal deposit is 640-1158 meter with 1053 Million Tones in-situ coal reserve where production may not be viable by the present day’s technology due to the depth of the deposits. Possibilities of extraction of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) need to be explored from these coal deposits. The government is actively reviewing the law to be applicable for Exploration and Production of Coal Bed Methane. So far, only Barapukuria coalfield is under production. Details of the coalfields and quality of the coal are shown below.
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