Drilling of a relief well to be delayed

An official of the Canadian company, Nico Resources, Bangladesh, yesterday told The Daily Star they cannot start drilling as the rig is yet to arrive. He said the process for bringing the rig to Tengratila from Chittagong has already started and it will reach in a few weeks.

The official added that unavailability of earth also slows down building a drill pad as they are now doing with sand from a riverbed.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Earlier, Nico had planned to start drilling in February and collect earth from an adjacent hillock. But it had to retreat in the wake of protests and objection by locals and the environment department.

The official expressed the hope that they can start drilling by late March. Once drilling starts, the relief well will take six to eight weeks to complete, he added.

Nico has entrusted a US firm, Parker Group, which had earlier jointly worked with Tullo, with the drilling.

The proposed relief well will be drilled about 300 feet off the main well.