Chevron in Bangladesh

Chevron is one of the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh, providing employment and supplying nearly 50 percent of the country's natural gas consumption.

The two-year startup of the Bibiyana Field demonstrated our ability to handle complex projects involving many technical, environmental and workforce challenges. To bring the field into production in 2007, Chevron recruited about 2,300 Bangladesh citizens to work on the project.

Chevron also produces natural gas from the Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar fields.

Chevron supports Bangladesh's goal of maximizing the nation's energy potential by actively investing in projects that deliver more gas to Petrobangla, the national oil company. We have developed natural gas production in three fields: Jalalabad, Moulavi Bazar and Bibiyana. In 2011, total daily production averaged 915 million cubic feet of natural gas (434 million net) and 4,000 barrels of condensate (2,000 net). Condensate is liquid hydrocarbon produced with natural gas.

In 2011, the Muchai compression project reached mechanical completion. Startup is expected in the second quarter of 2012. The project supports additional production from the Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar natural gas fields.

Chevron operates the Jalalabad gas field in northeastern Bangladesh under a production-sharing contract with Petrobangla, to whom the processed natural gas is sold. Condensate from the field is used to make products such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Since its inception in 1999, Jalalabad has doubled its production to meet the growing energy demand in the country. The field is one of the most cost-effective sources of energy for Bangladesh and has been in production since 2001.

Chevron produces natural gas from the Moulavi Bazar Field in Block 14, in northeastern Bangladesh, under a production-sharing contract with Petrobangla. The field has operated since 2005.

The Bibiyana Expansion Project began front-end engineering and design work in July 2011. The project is expected to include a gas plant expansion, new development wells and an enhanced liquids recovery unit, with an estimated total maximum daily production of 57,000 barrels of oil-equivalent. A final investment decision is expected in mid-2012.

Discovered in 1998, the field is one of the most significant natural gas discoveries in Bangladesh, in both quality and size of the reserve. Chevron signed a gas purchase and sales agreement with Petrobangla in 2004. The original development program included a natural gas processing plant with a capacity of 600 million cubic feet per day and a natural gas pipeline to connect the field to the national natural gas transmission grid. Bibiyana began producing natural gas in 2007.

 In 2009, an independent reserve redetermination study conducted by petroleum industry consultants DeGolyer and McNaughton concluded that the field contains a much larger reserve than originally thought. In 2011, Chevron relinquished its interest in Block 7 following the completion of an unsuccessful exploratory well.

In areas where we operate, Chevron Bangladesh invests in activities and programs that focus primarily on education, health care, small business development and the environment. We also provide resources that help people gain the skills needed to improve their standard of living while preserving their culture.

Chevron carries out most of these projects in partnership with leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Our employees also play key roles in community development projects by regularly participating in projects. In 2011 alone, our health, education, business development and environmental stewardship initiatives affected the lives of approximately 30,000 families in Bangladesh.

Many of our social investments in Bangladesh focus on improving the quality of life and economic opportunities available to people in the communities where we work. In 2011, more than 3,000 families living in 62 villages near Chevron's Bibiyana, Moulavi Bazar and Jalalabad fields received training and resources to start new businesses through the Alternative Livelihood Program. The program is run by our NGO partners the Institute of Development Affairs, Prochesta and the Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS). Another CNRS program offers about 500 families in two villages near the Moulavi Bazar Field education and skills training in work such as animal rearing and home gardening, which could lead to higher income. Households and schools in two villages near the Moulavi Bazar Field received improved cooking stoves, solar photovoltaic panels and biogas plants (small facilities that produce energy from organic waste). In 2012, this project was expanded to 500 families in two villages near the Bibiyana natural gas field.

Working with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Smiling Sun Franchise Program, we have helped create three Smiling Sun clinics. These facilities provide health care to an average of 6,000 villagers per month near the Bibiyana and Moulavi Bazar natural gas fields. Our partner, the Jalalabad Rotary Club, organizes free annual eye care clinics where patients receive checkups, free eyeglasses and cataract treatment. In 2011, about 1,200 people attended these free clinics.

Chevron is committed to improving the quality and availability of education for students in Bangladesh. In 2011, we provided additional teacher support at three schools and funded more than 1,000 scholarships for disadvantaged students. We also are helping to fund a five-year program that offers scholarships to students from across Asia and the Middle East who attend the Asian University for Women. And we worked with Save the Children to support a pre-primary program that served 440 students in 15 schools in the Bibiyana area. We also support programs to improve children's learning experiences. We helped establish computer learning centers in two schools near the Bibiyana and Moulavi Bazar Fields, contributing five desktop computers to each school. We also support an education endowment fund that helps pay for school uniforms, sports equipment and school furniture.

Chevron employees are active members of the community. In 2011, nearly 600 employees donated blood in Chevron's annual World Blood Donor Day. Also in 2011, Chevron employees helped plant nearly 21,000 saplings on roadsides and at schools and clinics near Chevron's Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar fields. And each year, our volunteers help Habitat for Humanity International build low-cost, durable homes for people in need.

During our time in Bangladesh, Chevron has worked to expand the country’s ability to produce energy and has done so in a responsible manner. Chevron has developed three natural gas fields in Bangladesh. The Jalalabad Field was discovered in 1989 and went into production in 1999. The Moulavi Bazar Field was discovered in 1999 and came on line in 2005. The largest producing field in Bangladesh, the Bibiyana Field, was discovered in 1998 and came on line in 2007.

Chevron works with our partners in the government of Bangladesh and with Petrobangla to develop the country’s energy resources in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. To protect the environment, Chevron uses the latest technologies, and strict inspection procedures ensure safe operations.

Chevron Bangladesh has earned 14 consecutive Zero Is Attainable awards from the company for its remarkable safety record. As of early 2012, our employees had achieved more than 30 million work hours without a single day away from work due to an injury.