The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has instructed that drilling activities in the country’s oil and gas exploration wells be suspended for 48 hours considering the risk of earthquake.

On Sunday, Power and Energy Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan confirmed the information.

The energy adviser said that drilling work is inherently risky. Several earthquakes have occurred one after another. For now, instructions have been given to halt all drilling operations for 48 hours.

He added: “Four earthquakes have occurred, meaning the safety of the rigs is being taken into consideration. During drilling, vibrations are felt anyway, so we have also considered the safety of those who are working. That is why this directive has been issued.”

It is understood that drilling operations have been instructed to remain stopped until 8am on Tuesday.

For context, on Saturday at 6:06pm, an earthquake of magnitude 3.7 on the Richter scale occurred, with its epicenter in Dhaka’s Badda area. Later, the Meteorological Department reported that almost at the same time—within one second—another tremor occurred with a magnitude of 4.3, with its epicenter in Narsingdi. Additionally, on Saturday at 10:36am, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Palash upazila of Narsingdi.

Earlier, on Friday, the most severe earthquake in recent memory was felt across the country. In this incident, 10 people died in Dhaka and various districts, and several hundred were injured. The epicenter of that quake was also in Narsingdi.

After so many earthquakes, panic has spread across the country. Several educational institutions, including Dhaka University, have already been closed. Many people are conducting classes online.