Bangladesh has cleared all outstanding payments, including around $30m in late payment interest, to Chevron Bangladesh. But the US energy major has not provided a time-bound plan to resume its $75m investment in the stalled Jalalabad Compression Project (JBC).

State-run Petrobangla urged Chevron in late August to begin work without delay, after settling dues a month ahead of the deadline. In response, Chevron reiterated its intention to proceed with the project but stopped short of confirming when operations would start.

The JBC, initially planned for 2023 with a $65m budget, could unlock an additional 352 billion cubic feet of gas from the Jalalabad field. Petrobangla officials say failure to implement it quickly risks further declines in domestic output, which has already fallen to about 1,800 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) — the lowest in over a decade.

Bangladesh has consumed 15 trillion cubic feet of gas so far, with reserves projected to run out by 2030. The government is increasingly reliant on costly liquefied natural gas imports, spending Tk 89bn in subsidies in FY2024-25 despite raising tariffs several times under IMF pressure.

Chevron supplies more than half of Bangladesh’s gas, producing 1,047 mmcfd from its Bibiyana, Jalalabad, and Moulvibazar fields. Market observers warn that prolonged delays in the JBC project could worsen the country’s energy deficit, undermining efforts to secure new supplies.