A deposit, producing 500-600 barrels of petroleum oil per day, has been discovered in the Sylhet gas field.

The fresh reserves of oil have been found at Sylhet-10 well where gas was also discovered in four layers, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said in a press conference at the secretariat on Sunday.

At the well, he said, the oil was found at a depth of 1,397-1,445 metres underground following a test done on 8 December.

With the API gravity of 29.7 degrees, 35 barrels of oil flow were recorded per hour at self-pressure, Nasrul said, adding that further testing would determine the extent of oil reserves.

At the press conference, the state minister said there was a flow of 25 million cubic feet of gas at a depth between 2,540 metres and 2,550 metres with the pressure at 3,250 PSI. “There are reserves of 43-100 billion cubic feet of gas at this layer.”

He hoped 25-30 million cubic feet of gas would be found at the depth of 2,460-2,475 metres, while another layer of gas was located at the depth of 2,290-2,310 metres underground.

The average value of the gas would be about Tk8,500 crore, Nasrul added.