Earlier, officials of the company had said that the drilling there under Block-12 would start this month. But it would not be possible to start drilling before December-end or early January, company sources said.

A row over land acquisition and delay in transportation of rig components from abroad has caused the delay, they said.

Unocal is implementing a major drilling plan involving 230 million US dollars in the Bibiyana Gas Field in Nabiganj. It is now preparing to start drilling of two production wells there 'as soon as possible'.

A drilling rig would reach Chittagong port from Dubai within a fortnight, an official informed. Transportation of the rig from Chittagong to the North Pad of Bibiyana would take at least two weeks.

A row is on at places as many owners of lands acquired by the government are not accepting the compensation, terming it inadequate. In certain areas, they are fleeing homes following filing of cases while the acquired lands are being developed for Unocal under police protection, sources claimed.

German company Deutag has already been contracted for the drilling, the source added. There are two old gas wells in the North Pad, drilled by US company Occidental in 1998. Occidental had engaged German company Deutag for drilling of wells at the much-talked-about Magurchhara gas field in Moulvibazar that suffered a severe blowout and explosion in the early hours of June 15, 1997. After the blowout, Occidental sold all its assets to Unocal and left Bangladesh.

Unocal officials however said they are hopeful of starting gas production Bibiyana gas field by the end of next year. Bibiyana is considered as the richest gas field in the country.

The company will drill at least six wells in Bibiyana North Pad. Initially, 200 MMCFD gas would be supplied to the National Gas Grid. By the end of 2008, the company would raise the production to 400 MMCFD, which would be the optimum production there, the official claimed.

Work on laying of a 47 kilometre pipeline from Bibiyana gas field to the North-South Pipeline (National Gas Grid) at Muchhai in Habiganj would also be started soon, the officials said.

The Prime Minister's office gave approval to acquisition of 140 acres land for the pipeline laying programme in

Habiganj and Moulvibazar districts about two month ago.

As per the target, preparatory work for setting up of a 500

MMCFD gas processing plant at the South Pad is going on, the official informed.