Bangladesh and coal

In its review of the mining industry of Bangladesh, the U.S. Geological Survey states that the country has "small reserves of coal, natural gas, and petroleum."

The state-owned company, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, which is commonly known as Petrobangla, is involved in oil and gas exploration, production, and distribution. It is also "involved in the exploration for and production of such minerals as coal, granite, and limestone for the manufacture of cement", the USGS reports.

Barapukuria coal mine
Petrobangla’s coal mining subsidiary is Barapukuria Coal Mining Co. Ltd (BCMCL) operates an underground coal mine at Barapuluria in the Dinajpur District. "The coal mine had a production capacity of 1 Mt/yr of coal. Coal extraction was by long-wall mining. The coal was delivered to a thermal powerplant. Development work of the next long-wall coal face was underway, and production was expected to begin in 2007," the USGS reports.

The proposed Phulbari Coal Project
A London-headquartered company, GCM Resources (which is also referred to in some reports as Global Coal Management), has also proposed the development of the Phulbari Coal Project. On its website, GCM states that the Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GCM Resources plc, has a contract with the Government of Bangladesh 'for exploration and mining of coal in Northern Bangladesh'."

The USGS states that "the project’s environmental impact and feasibility studies had been completed, and mining operations could be done by open pit method. After coal preparation, the final product would be coking coal and thermal coal for both export and domestic use. The bituminous coal resource of 572 million metric tons was large enough for the mine to last more than 30 years at a mining rate of 15 Mt/yr."

On its website, the company states that "the Company has completed a Feasibility Study for commercial development of the Phulbari Coal Project. The Scheme of Development was submitted to the Government of Bangladesh in November 2005 and is awaiting approval. The Company has also provided a proposal to the Government for the development of up to 1000 MW of coal-fired power generating capacity at the mine mouth."

Citzens groups campaigning on coal mining

 * Bangladesh Environment Network - see also archive of "Coal & Gas" articles.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Global use and production of coal

External resources

 * International Energy Agency, "Coal in Bangladesh in 2006", International Energy Agency website, accessed August 2009.
 * U.S. Geological Survey, "The Mineral Industry of Bangladesh", reports 1994-2007,
 * Chin S. Kuo, The Mineral Industry of Bangladesh: 2007, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, December 2008.
 * Mark Muller, It's Not Only About Coal Mining: Coal-Bed Methane (CBM) and Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Potential in Bangladesh", Mines and Communities, March 17, 2009.
 * "Coal sector", Energy Bangla.com, archive of stories.

External articles

 * "US Cos Keen to Invest in Coal Mining in Bangladesh", Energy Bangla, May 28, 2009.
 * "JS panel suggests speedy approval of coal policy", Energy Bangla, July 23, 2009.