<P> Bangladesh is the ninetenth - largest producer of natural gas in Asia . Gas supplies meet 56% of domestic energy demand . However, the country faces an acute energy crisis in meeting the demands of its vast and growing population . Bangladesh is a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products . The energy sector is dominated by state - owned companies, including Petrobangla and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation . Chevron, ConocoPhilips, Statoil, Gazprom and ONGC are major international companies engaged in Bangladesh's hydrocarbon industry, with Chevron's gas fields accounting for 50% of natural gas production . </P> <P> Geologists believe the country's maritime exclusive economic zone holds one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the Asia - Pacific . Protectionism and a lack of technical capacity have impeded Bangladesh's potential to emerge as a major global hydrocarbon producer . Two LNG Terminala and a gas pipeline will be created to ease the Bangladesh gas shortage . </P> <P> The Indo - Burma Petroleum Company drilled the first oil wells in Eastern Bengal between 1908 and 1914 in Chittagong District . The Burmah Oil Company discovered the first gas field in East Bengal in 1955 . Industrial use of natural gas began in 1959 . The Shell Oil Company and Pakistan Petroleum discovered seven major gas fields in the 1960s . </P> <P> After the Bangladesh Liberation War, the first government of Bangladesh led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with Dr. Kamal Hossain as Minister of Energy, enacted the Bangladesh Petroleum Act in 1974 . The government welcomed many international oil companies to explore the country . It established Petrobangla as the national mineral resources company . Petrobangla accelerated exploration activities in 1980s and discovered nine major gas fields; and also established the first commercial oil facility in Haripur in 1986 . The Jalalabad, Maulvi Bazar, Bibiyana and Bangura - Lalmai gas fields were tapped in the 1990s by numerous multinational oil and gas companies, including Shell and Unocal . The energy giant Chevron acquired the assets of Unocal in Bangladesh in 2005 . </P>

When was the first gas field discovered in bangladesh