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Major Natural Resource of the Sylhet Region and its Economic Importance: A
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 .-,:,.\T Journal of Science and Technologt,
Vol. 24, No. I, 2016; p; 37_46

Major Natural Resource of sylhet Region and

its Economic
Importance: A review
(Submitted on: July 16,2,r4;Accepteti
for publication: Decembe r 0r,2014)
M. S. Islam
Depa rtme nt of pe tro leu m and Mining Engineering, slaniatat university of
science and rechnologt, sythet,
Bangladesh
Email: sho lliq@yahoo.com

Abstract
Sylhet region or Surma Basin is enriched
with natural resources such as natural oil/gas,
rock/gravel' construction sand, limestone, hard
glass sand and peat coal. m.
oil/gas reserve is significant to the nationaidemand value of proven
in the'energy ;;;; ""ono,nlc
The proven gas reserve is
estimated 22'73 Trillion cubic feet (TCF)
with recoverable rc.sl'tcp.The daily gas production
(1514'3 standard million ft:, or'rvcplir.om the Sylhet region is more than two-third
countryrvide production of "^u^b1"
2294.6 MMCF, ur it i, o, rune r0-l r] iioq.'rrr"
of the
liquid hydrocarbon is also considerable in amount of producing
this region. The contributlon r.o* the oillgas
the national economy is,incredible. r"t.uurgiu sector in
pay a good amount to the national
yearly (BDT 45383.3 milrion i.n2012) exchequer
*itt, airg" empLyment. Every company of petrobangra
has significant amount net profit too.
rlrd rock/gravel ana sana from the river bed have
also been contributing the developm"n, ""t.a"iio,
oi1ir" socioeconomi" with a significant
employment opportunity' Discovery "orditio,
of t ug" p"at reserye in the Hakaluki Lake is also prospective
to solve the forthcoming energy criiis of
n"angladesh.

1. Introduction
The naturai resources are naturally occurring
substances that are considered valuable in their relatively
unmodified form' It is the natural *"alth
of a country, consisting of land, forests,
51'lhet area is the most,":'i:h"9 area minerar deposits, water, etc. The
of Bangladesh'in natural i"rou*"r. A.large quantity
reserve and the only oil field of
the country a"re located rr"... rrr.-u*-u-hu, olthe total proven gas
construction sand' peat coal and limestlne. urro a vast deposit of hard rock/graver,
But the economic value of hydrocarbon (gasioil)
o'errvhelmingly dorninant' The. region reserves is
is geologicaliy known u, th. su.ru Basin,
prominent tectonically-active
subsiJing sedii:rentary basins of the world.
which'i-. on. of the most
tbredeep and Folded-Belr division It covers ri-r" nont-.urtern parts of the
e.ngul naiin. thickness of ttre sedimentary
estimated more than l5,kilo*eters'"rtr'"t pile in
rhis hug'i sedimentary b"dt;th" basin is dominantry the Surma Basin area is
shale with subordinated limestone, ,vt composed of sand and
i"n Eetlved to be utu,tlJ depositing in a deep-basement
nillion years ago with the gradual rise ortt e basin about 50
Himalayas aue to cottisiol.,-between the
subsequent erosion' This area is characterized Ind-ian and Burmese plates and
by a petroleum system based on the oligocene
as a gas-prone and liquid-prone source age Jenam Formation
rock. Hydrocarbon'a".u.nrlutions have
oligocene 1o Miocene age Bhuban and
Boka Bil Formation, ortr,. su.ra Group
#; il;; primarily in the
Surr'ra Basin and is migrating vertically
and horizontauy r".rr"rg.it.,"""i.up.
Ir]. The strata is mature in the
i'na faulted anticlines' combination
anticlines *itt', a.ap"a .nunni. rrur"
[2]. The traps are primarily anticlines
a.d deeper horizons may be possible ur.o t..n p.ou.;.-oihei stratigraphic
n'tu." tu.g"tr. The sand-shui" traps
l;chnically'-developed favorable structural of tire ,"ai."niu,y body, along with
,"ring (exposed und .or"r!o
"o,npo.itron
fords and faurts mainly) have made
S1 lhet region highly potential
for the o".u.r*." nr minerar ,.rou.*..-air the
rock' reservoir rock' trap, etc') are present the geotogic ;;ilil;;, (fording/faulting,
'ource
'iii.n' J!{oreover' sediment maturation, local/regionat forthe g.r..ution ofhydrocarbon in the Sylhet
"nd'preservation
ge"ott.,e.rnat-'gruii"rr,
rtilcient for the source materiars to be"cookei,l overburden pressure, etc. have been
to f.o, hydrocarbon.
38 MS Lslam

However, there is no systematic research had been done on the assessment of all natural resources (mainly
mineral resources) of the Sylhet region and its role in national development. [n this uork. I i) surrmarized all the
natural resources with their location and quantity and ii) an economic analysis.

2. Method of studY

The various literatures were reviewed for conducting this work. However, most of the C:ta har,e been collected
from the daily production and sales repoft and as well the annual report of Petrobangla. Scne rntbrmation has also
collected from the daily newspaper and by-weekly magazine-Energy and Porver. N'loreor er. I lLar e :ollected a lot of
information from the final updated report on Bangladesh petroleum potential and resource l:s3:s:ttent 2010.

3. Natural Resources

3. I Natural Gas
TherearetengasfieldslocatedintheSylhetregion(Fig.2).Thefirst3gasfieldsofthecounir\ rierediscoveredin
this region between mid 1950s and early 60s - Sylhet gas field in 1955, Chattak in 19jq arc Rashidpr-rr in 1960.
Other gas fields of the Sylhet region, according to their year of discovery are Koilastil: lc5l. H35igoanj 1963,
Beanibazar 1981, Fenchugonj 1988, Jalalabad 1989, Moulovibazar 1997 and Bibiy'ana l9qS '1.,, ti:"'se reserves have
been discovered in structural traps formed by mild folds (anticlines) that occur irr the subsL.::.:. ::rl hare no direct
surface expressions. The intensity of these folds increases west to east in the direction .-i::': r l:e: 3elt region;
which relates to the development of greater thrust in that direction due to tectonic actjr itr

MINAREL RESOURCES
T'','.........',,...3,.....-,..','...,..'l:,.,.,.,

:)

t?f,f r -,,.i:r a:

al-

Fig. I NIap of Bangladesh with mineral resources l!'

 'l-

Major Natural Resource of the sylhet Regton and its Economic Importance: A review 39

However, the discovery gas fields are mostly located in the nearly-plan lands of along the western fringe zones
of the intensively folded areas. Gas is discovered within sandstone layers of Surma Group (Bhuban and Bokabil
formation) in the subsurface. Sandstone acts as good reservoirs because of their high porosity and permeability.
However, the gas is generated in some neighboring dnd deeper clayey layers (shale) with high organic contents and
later migrates to the upper sandy units, which are sealed with impervious sedimentary layers. Impervious layers
(trap) prevent further migration of the gas. The total estimated reserve of the gas fields of the Sylhet area is about
22.73 TCF with a recoverable reserve (2P) of about 16.57 TCF (Table 1). The operating company of the Habiganj
Gas Field and Fenchuganj Gas Field are Bangladesh Gas Fileld Company Limited (BGFCL) and Bangladesh
Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX). The lntemational Oil Company (IOC) Chewon
is operating the Bibiyana, Maulovi Bazar and Jalalabad Gas field. The rest of the five gas fields are under the Sylhet
Gas Field Limited (SGFL).

Table l: Natural gas reserve of Sylhet area (in BCF) [4,5]

Si Cas Field Year of' Year ol GIIP Recoverable Recoverable Cumulative Remaining
No discoverl' TCSCTVC reserve ( I P) reserve (2P) production reserve w.r.t.
estirnation Proved proved + probable (Dec'12) 2P (Jan'13)
I Sythet I 955 2009 370.0 256.5 318.9 r 98.87 120.3
2. Chattak 1959 2000 1039.0 265.0 474.0 26.46 447.54
J Rashidpur 1960 2009 36s0.0 1060.0 2433.0 s09.83 1923.17
4. Kailastila 1962 2009 3610.0 2390.0 2760.0 577.15 2182.85
5 Habigani 1963 2009 3684.0 2238.0 2533.0 1930.25 702.75
6 Beani Bazar 1981 2009 234.7 r 50.0 203.0 73.40 129.60
7 Fenchuganj 1 988 2009 553.0 229.0 381.0 95.09 285.91
8. Jalalabad I 989 1999 1491.0 823.0 I 184.0 721.30 462.70
9 Moulavi 1997 2003 1053.0 405.0 428.0 2t t.42 216.58
Bazar
10 Bibiyana I 998 2008 7127.0 .1415.0 57 54.0 1267.57 4486.43
Total 22737.7 12231.5 16568.9 561 I .34 I 0957.83

Table 2: Prospective natural gas resources ofSylhet area (in BCF) t6]
Prospective gas resources
Gas Field/Basin
Pqo Pso P,o
Lind iscovered Surma Basin 1,065 8,279
Shale- Surn.ra Basin 20,691 41,47 I
Sylhet 171 440
Chattak 204 591
Rashidpur r,438 3,676
Kailastila 1,220 3,01s
Thin bed
resource
Habiganj l,3l I 3,195
Beani Bazar 6l 159
Fenchuganj 123 339
Jalalbad 593 1,53 l
Moulavi Bazar 406 1,064
Total 27,183 53,860

Moreover, a significant amount of prospective shale oil and thin bed resources could find in the Surma basin.
l-he amount of gas is 27,395 BCF at P56 and 64,060 BCF at p16 (Table 2).
The daily gas oroduction is 1514.3 MMCF (Table 3) from fourty nine (49) well of eleven gas fields
which is
liround 660% of the total gas production (2294.6 MMCF, on 10-1 1106/2104) of the count.V. ,ir.
annual gas
pr-oduction from these gas fields of the Sylhet area is 15683.75 MMCF and
the total cumulative production (rular:ch,
i4') is 177627.4 MMCF (Table 3).
 M. S. Islam
40

Table 3: from the different field of the thet area

Gas Field No. of Daily Daily Total production in Cumulative
Si
No wells in production production the last year (2012' production
production capacity 13) (lVIarch, l4)
2 11.0 8.6 96.90 5146.28
1 Sylhet
4 49.0 46.8 485.54 15040.1 4
2. Rashidpur
80.0 16.2 889.40 17396.15
3. Kailastila 6
225.0 224.6 2351.977 57 513.501
4 7
2 14.0 9.9 121.00 2215.90
5. Beani Bazar
2 40.0 37.9 396.90 3 194.80
6 Fenchueani
4 230.0 244.8 2363.7 5 23490.88
7. Jalalbad
60 58.8 887.3 84 7038.518
8 Moulavi Bazar 6
l6 770 806.7 8090.897 45960"58 I
9 Bibiyana
49 t479 i 514.3 15683.75 177627.4
Total

3.2 Crude oil

'Ihe only oil field of the country is located in Haripur in the Sylhet district, rvhich, was discovered in 1986' Aithough
a relatively large quantity of gas has been discovered in the county, the amount of oil
discolered is very small' This
is in a sharp contrast to *un/nya.ocarbcln provinces of the world where large volumes olboth gas and oil co-exist'
confused by this reality and rnost opine that exploration into even deeper
Geologists of our country are somewhat
oil is in sandstone
sedimentary layers than those producing gasses may help discover oil. The Horipur
discovered
layers within a subsurface fold called SJihet anticiine which is about I3 kilometers long and 3 kilometers rvide;
two closely spaced oil-horizons hat.e been cletected. The
pioducing horizons are arouncl 2066 meters depths and
maximum oil reserve is estimated to be around 2l million barrels. oil production rinder naturai pressure rvas 400
to barrels in 1994 and since then it has remained suspended due to
barrels per day in 1987 which dropped ab.out 100
the necessity of further development of the field. Between 1987 and 1994, a total of 0.56
miliion of crude oil has
in Patharia' Assam. Honever, during the
been produced. The quality of ihe Haripur oil is similar to that discovered
in the sylhet Gas Field and Kailastila Gas Field which
y.u. of zot l-l2,the BApEx conducted 3-D seismic survey
*,ithin gas fields. According to the information on 3D srirYey. one laver
showed a better prospect in oil reserve these
On
hasassuredreserveof28millionbarrelsofoilwithllmillionbarrelsrecoverableintheSllhet(Haripur')field'
the other hand, Kailastila field, 109 barrels of oil at four layers and 44 million barrels of oil
could be extracted'
Basin (Table 4)'
Moreover, a significant amount of discovered and discovered shale oil resources in the Siirrna

Table 4: shale oil resources in ttre Surma Basin

Prospective shale oil resources
Gas Field/Basin
Pqo Pso

Surrna Basin 27.0 91.0 239.4

Shale oil
Undiscovered Shale Aa 40.1
Surma Basin 0.0
oil
qi7 279.1
Total 27.0

3.3 Condensate, Diesel, Motor spirit and Kerosene

Among these are
l\lost of the gas fields of the Sylhet region consist of a significant amount of liquid hydrocarbon.
condensate, diesel, motor spiriilu"Sl and kerosene are mentionable (Table 5) The daily production of these liquids
ts 3292335 liters which from ,iine gas fields of the Sylhet region, which lields the annual liquid hydrocarbon
the total cumulative production (March, 1;1) is i292052000 liters (Table 5) as it
production is 195704300 liters ancl
is in 2012. These liquid hydrocarbons are distributed in different places in the country after separation
from
Kailastila and Rashidpur processing plants.
 --

Ma.ior Natural Resource of the Sythet Region and its Economic

lmportance: A review 4t

Table 5 uction ftom different fields ofthe 'lhet area thousand liters 4,5
Daily Total production Cumulative
SiNo Gas Field Component production
Daily
in the last year production
production
capacity (?012-13) (March, 14)
Motor spirit 6.99 7.77 2905.92 1 13161.16
I
Diesel
Sylhet 17.71
Kerosene 2.88 2.16 934.15 9730.06
condensate 1 1.08 I r.00 4304.70 12s768.s3
2. RashidpLrr condensate 8.27 8.32 3430.24 112159.22
Motor spirit 23.5 8 27.23 9423.84 193424.41
Kailastiia Diesel 19.87 24.58 8178.1 1 175436.83
condensate 162.05 113.79 41708.2'i 997738.64
4 Beani Bazar condensate 29.80 25.05 r 0s23.88 208042.73
5 Fencl.rugan j condensate s.96 3.99 I828.052 14081.3s9
6. Jalal abad condensate 295.32 10383 8.61 1225329.04
N{oulavi
7
Baz.ar 5.7 917.713 16417.333
8. Bibiyana 3286.6 194769.7 53 1275582.204
Total 0.045 3292.335 195704.3 1292052
3,4 Limestone
Lirnestone is usually formed in a shallorv, calm, open marine
condition. During the middle Eocene tirne
:l|rthwestern Bangladesh was coverecl with such a shallow open
'rormation rnarine conditioriand the Sylhet Limestone
was formed during that time. The Sylhet limeston.. u.. exposed
on or close to the surface in the
akergaht-Lalghat areas of the northu'estern part of the Sylhet
' region along its border with the Indian state of
[7]' The reserve is 30 million tons, rvhich u'as pieliminail,estirnatid by while the Geological Survey
"1t-ghalaya
:lansladesh (GSB) in i982. lt is the second iargest discovered of
limestone in the country after the Jaipurhat. In

Fig. 2 Syihet Limestone from the Dauki River bank, Jaflong l]

[1

.beLalghat and Takerghat

about 10
areas, limestone deposits occur at much shallower depths
and their reserve are estimated
and 2 million tons respectively. in these areas, limestone
'r-ir31 ed that the sylhet
deposits ire also intermittently exposed. It is
Iimestone body has trought to the surface by upliftment due
''r'r: lall within to tectonic activity; most of its
the Indian Territory and Bangladesh sharply aisappear'underthe
alluvium cover in the south with a
eri high angle of dip' The Takerghat limestone deposit has been'extracted
since the Independence of Bangladesh
.:i its reserve is fast diminishing. The Sylhet limestone is light yellow colored and
non-clastic. The Sylhet
-:irLestone in the subsurface in west Bengal is_similar in litholJgy and fossil
content to outcrops of the Sylhet
' ,nestone in the Garo Hills and the Mikir lrltlt
JsJ. Limestones..i...ea to the Sylhet Limestone are exposed in the
 M. S. Islam
42

and in the
Garo Hills.of India and the Takerghat area of Sylhet' Bangladesh'
Jaintia Hills, Khasia Hills, and
limesione horizon oith" Sylh"t I-imestone
forms a
district, Bangladesh t9l' ih;;;"rmost
subsurface of Rajshahi not much further downdip [10]'
as far as ir"-gtlJgit"thi River-but
feature of seismic reflector, identifiable Li-"'tont"' includes an abundant and diverse
The Sylhet l-i,n"rt#, lnown regionally
";^;;';'fi;mulitic and a sparse' low
assemblage'
air"rr" ;;ii;. u.,tt'i"-ro'u*inifer
larger foraminit , urr"*u?;;, ;;J;"rv *ii'' ott'tt middle Eocene formations on the
diversity ostracode urr".nutugt' The Sylhet Li-";;;; u"
"ott"tutta A small quantity of the
Discocyclina' u'a-)n'onno1 tl2l'
"un
basis of the larger foraminifirs Q'{ummulites, border [9]'
i"t uu.t ^A;;i;;''
india-nangladesh
tuil;;;il; th; ;;;liR u"."ut Juflongiui*. a near
Sylhet Limestone also "f
areas of Meghalaya and fall on
3.5 Hard Rock/gravel
found on the stream beds that drain the hilll
;il;;;r;;;r"is of different sizes are
along the ;;;;;;.; of the Sl'lhet region This is particularlv
promi-
;;n;i;;; *ithin the Bangladesh territorv

size stone a) sieve size stones

b) % in. sized stones, c ) silicon
'-accum:lations of different
re
gravel/hard rock (Courlesv bv [11] )'
t;;;:;i;umulated
Upazila is one of the famous stone
areas. As we know that the Jaflong of Gorvainghat
nent in Jaflong_automobile
of construction nlaterials has been
tottJttta every )ear' The Dauki River borne
quarries from r.vhere u rrug" amount river channels near Jaflong area
arring the tuiny and mainly deposited on the
gravel come from the rprir"u* "o'on cubic meters collected gravel/boulder
up to several ..t"., a.pi',. rrr.
,o,air,imat.j ;r;; i, uuout +s'o *irrlo,, a significant amount of stones is also
(Fig.3) is usually.rurr,.J'into-a"rlr"a size of
.r.ror".'. demand. Moreover'
iu,r-rut it point and crushed in
the same locality'
imporred frorn .eighbo#;;r;;
,rdiu tr-I.ougr-,

3.6 Glass Sand were made in the early fifties'

The first discoveries of glass sand deposits
However, the glass ,."i ,i* i,r.;;.;#;
arri"!-i szz- 13 and
activities
exploration
examination of the glass ru,id o."ur."nces,
land near Shahzibazar [13,14]
in the Noyapara - Shahzibazar area
r', iit'Ctolosjcal t""v or eungladesh (GSB) after conducting
i;io ir area' During subsequent
throughout Noyapara- Shahzibazar
in a 14km long strip of the flat
17 lenses of gliss sand *ttJitto"red
.1g74,-76
 -
Maj or I',tattrral Resotu"ce of the Sylhet Region and its Economic lmportance: A review 43

Glass Sand (Fig. ) is a special type of sand that is suitable for glass making because of its high silica content,
and its low content of iron oxide, chromium, cobalt and other colorants. The sand contains about 88 to99Yo of silica
with a few percentages of iron, titanium, cobalt, and other materials. Presence of white, yellowish-white, medium to
fine grained, loose glass sand is observed in auger holes during investigation.

Fig-4: Glass sand sample of Shahzibazar (Courtesy byfi 5])

The silica sand is a part of recent alluvium that unconformably rocks of the Dupi Tila Formation of Pliocene
age. The alluvium ofrecent age consists ofgray clay, silica sand, and light brown clay. The sand overlies the gray
clay and occurs in lenticular bodies.'l'he thickness of the laygr was estimated 0.5-6.0fl/0.-l5-i.80m [16]. According
to [7] The top brown sand is 2-6ft thick, the middle white sand is2-7ft thick, and is underlain by brown sand, the
base ofwhich is not exposed. The sand deposits are lenticular in shape and occupy an area ofapprox. 25,00,000 sq
ft, i.e.57acres. About 36 lenses of glass sand were discovered in a l4km long and 0.5 to lkm wide strip of the flat
land near Shahzibazar within 0.15 to l.20rn depth from surface. Thicknesses of these lenses are 0.15 to 1.80m. The
largest deposit contains about 2,00,000 tons and smaller one less than 1,000 tons. The total reserve in this area is
estimated about L4l million tons.

3.7 Construction Sand

Construction sand is one of the most easy to get natural resources and a major basic raw material, is used mostly by
the construction industry. Despite the lower unit value of its basic products, the construction sand industry is a
major contributor to and an indicator of the economic well-being of the Nation. People have used sand and stone for
foundations for thousands of years. The invention of concrete, which was essential to architecture utilizing arches,
created an immediate, permanent demand for construction aggregates.
The Sari River is important for its natural beauty for tourism and the main sources of construction sand with
different color, sizes and texture. There are many people are engaged to collect the river-born sand and gravel ffom
the Sari river channel (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Labors are collecting sand from the quarry, ii) The sand being moved down to the river, iii) ExtractingSand is ferried
down from Lalakhat to Sarighat for sale [ 1 8]
44 M. S. Islam

3.8 Peat Coal

peat is an accumulation of partially decayed organic matter. Peat forms when plant material, usually in wet areas, is
inhibited from decaying fUty by acidic and inaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation:
principally bog plants irctriing mosses, sedges and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat can hold water, thereby
slowly creating wetter conditions, and allowing the area of wetland to expand. Peat is soft and easily compressed'
Undei pressurg water in the peat is forced out. Upon drying, peat can be used as fuel. It has industrial importance
as

a fuel in some countrier, ,r"i, as Ireland and Finiand, where it is harvested on an industrial scale. It is believed that
the low-lying marshy land of the Sylhet area is enriched with peat coal. Very recently [19] Geological Survey
of
Bangladesh icss) has announced the largest peat coal deposit of 200 million tons in the Hakaluki Lake of the
Sylhlt region. According to the preliminary assessment of the GSB, the total area of the peat deposits is about 100
square kilometers of Juri-, Kulauia and BaralekhaUpazilaof Moulavi Bazar District and Fenchuganj
and Golapganj
lJpazilaof the Sylhet district. The age of the coal estimates of 6000 years. The quality of the coal is very good for
fuel use.

4. Economic AnalYsis

Amongthe natural resources, the natural oil/gas has significant contribution ofthe national level' fhe natural
gas is used to generate electricitv, producing fertilizer. It also uses in industries and domestic purposes. The annual
total revenue of the sale from oil/gas is estimated BDT 204651.8 million and net interest BDT 904.5 million as it is
in2012 (Table 6). The contribution to the national exchequer is about BDT 45383.3 million (Table 7). Moreover,
there are about ten (1 0) tlrousands people are engaged in the oil/gas.
A qualitative feasibility study between river borne hard rock,gravel and imported hard rock from India has
shorvn that the stone crusl.ring from the river bed collection is more feasible than the company imported stones from
India (Table 8) for socioeconomic developir.rent [9]. There are ser,'eral thousands of people are involve in the stone
collection and stone crushing company in Jaflong area [9]. On the other hand, a significant amount of sand is
extracted from the Sari River channel every y'ear. There are manl neople are engaged to collect the river-born sand
from the Sari river too. The blessing ol the Sari River, the econonric condition ol the local people of the area is
being gradually increased. In the economic point of view, it can bi seen that the construction sand and rocks are
being used in various sectors of our county. An analytical study conducted by Department of P-elroleum and N{ining
Engi-neering, SUST,;rhich indicates that every day, approximately 600 ftt of rocks and i7.-s00 ft' of sands have treen
exti-acting commercially from the study area whose yearly worth about BDT 27,866655.0 [18]'

Table 6: Statement on co revenue and of fiom oi and uction sector

Item Heading BGFCL SGFL BAPEX RPGCL TOTAI- (N4illion Tk.)
Sales
Total Revenue 30189.95 98161.59 13405.03 30573.79 172330.37
Cost of sales
Gas and Condensate Purchases; Inter .1 ZZ.+ J 2016s.69 20165.69
Company
Contribution to BAPEX for exploration 9137.1
Contribution to Gas developrnent fund 7A210.98
Others 13289.45 45543.24 12129.7 22891.7'1 944s4.16
Total cost of sales r3289.45 45513.24 12729.7 22891.77 1728212.9
Operational Profit 16900.51 52618.35 67 5.33 1682.02 94454.16
Financial Cost
lnterest expense 662.61 47.29 272.\4 645.3 1627.34
Less interest income 4453.63 13863.22 3641 .51 2372.64 24331
Net Interest 3791.02 13815.93 3369.37 1727.34 22703.66
Net profit before contribution 20736.68 66438.46 4083.12 9160.26 100718.52
Net profit taxation 19699.85 63116.54 3888.69 8987.25 95692.33
Net profit for the year after taxation 2846.88 39447.84 2430.43 5617.03 50342.1 8

Distributable profit 101758.13 39084.68 505.56 22807.14 r 64155.5 I

 ll{ajor Natural Resource of the sylhet Region and its Economic Importance: A review 45

Table 7: to the national ln

Year SD + \/AT DSL Income Tax Dividend CD/VAT Royality Total
r 998-99 9 r 16.9 2984.9 1030.6 I 500 r68 14800.4
r 999-00 86 i 8.9 I 105.1
J
-) J.J I 150 131.9 14259.2
2000-0 I 11049.2 2503.8 I142.1 1058.6 93 15846.7
200 I -02 I 0541 .3 3327.3 917.2 1428.9 122.6 16337.3
2002-03 15576.4 3 3 95.9 1456.8 1499.8 684.7 22613.6
2003-04 18235.2 3708.9 1620.4 t7 50 393.5 2s708
200,1-05 1848r 368 t. 2530.6 2000
r s96.2 27288.9
2005-06 18526.7 3440 3597.8 2l 383.2
-s4.8 t2.5 281ls
2406-07 18801.5 4145 "5 3665. r 2500 329.2 12.6 29453.9
2407-A8 17900.6 J--J.+ 6490.5 350. I 60.9 2802s.5
2008-09 r93 13.5 3533 7 547 .6 I7r5.3 554.7 6.3 32630.4
2009- I 0 24461.7 ))) t.l 10057.5 3281.5 2211.1 655.3 39601.4
20r0-1 r 2t625.5 3209 1 1050.9 4l 98..1 884.2 714 41682
)nl I I') 26668.1 2989.i 9378.9 3875.8 1470.6 1000.6 4s383.3
l'able 8; J'he statenrent of cost/beneflt ol diflere;rt of stones of250 lt2 and stones
Stone
Costr'benefit (;a,,.
Silicon Si e Gravel/Boulder stone
Ilstiniared cost before criish BDT 7.500 BDT 2,25A BDT 12,500 BDT 16,500 BDT 14,500
Estimated cost BDT I,5OO BDT 2,OOO
Estirnated total cost BDT 7.500 BDT 2.250 BDT 12,500 BDT t8,000 BDI' 1.6500
Sel I BDT 10,500 BD'r 5,000 BDT 10.000 BDT I 8,500 to 19,350 BDT 22,000
Expected Net prolit BDT:],OO(] BD'f 2.750 BDT 2,500 BDT 500 to 1,350 BDT 5,500
Even though the total reserve of glass sand in the Shahzibazar area
is estimated about l.4l million tons,
;'ccnontic feasibility yet to be done. How'ever, the market price of deposited peat,
coal in the Hakaluki Lake is more
than BDT 10000 million.

Conclusion
The natural resources ofthe Sylhet region are very potent for
the country. The oil/gas reserye and prospecting
and production from the Sylhet region are overwhelming. Production
data indicate that more than 65yo of gas is
produced from this region. Moreover, most of the gas field
in this region is producing a large quantity of liquid
hydrocarbon including condensate, motor spirit, diesel and ke.osenJ.
Natural oil/gas has been contributing a
significant amount of revenue to the national exchequer and meeting
the energy oi-eu.,gladesh. The hard
rocugravel and river borne sand from this region is aiso contributingln ".i"ri,
the netJlrbuilding unj.oud construction
as nation development. A huge employment opportunity in the ofvgas
"vell sector, extraction of hard rock/gravel and
sand has been contributing the socioeconomic development.
Moreover,"newly discovered thelargest peat deposit in
Bangladesh in the Hakaluki Lake would help the present
or future energy demand/crisis in the countrv.

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