Many Bangladesh organizations claim the survey will disrupt the Lauachhara environment, which has an extremely rich ecosystem. It reportedly sustains at least 167 high-value plant species, 4 species of amphibians, 6 species of reptiles, 246 species of birds, and 20 species of mammals. During the 1950s, it was such a dense forest that its interior was dark even at midday. Some of the 1959 movie “Around The World in 80 Days” was filmed in the Lauachhara.

Today, the forest is being depleted. There has been large-scale tree-cutting because of the government’s policy of making the forestry department pay for itself. The department’s annual recurrent expenses happen to be the same as the government’s revenue target of about $14.4 million. Revenue is generated from logging operations, auctions of seized timber, and permit issuance. To protect some forest areas from illegal cutting, the Nishorgo Support Project was started, financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by the International Resource Group. Interestingly, many members of the guard teams had earlier been involved in illegal trade. It is a case of (former) thieves catching thieves.

In response to environmentalists’ demands, the Bangladesh Environment Ministry asked the International Union Conservation of Nature to form an independent expert body to guide the survey work in the protected and sensitive forest areas, to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with the approved Environmental Impact Assessment.

Steve Wilson, president of Chevron’s Bangladesh operations, says the company is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. It will use only light equipment and will not cut any trees. If gas is found, there will no drilling in the forest; diagonal drilling will be used instead. After the rainy season, “there will be no trace of a seismic survey in the area,” he said. Chevron began the survey in January 2008 and will complete it next June. According to Wilson, new drilling will take place if the seismic proves the presence of gas in new reserves. Production may take place at the end of 2009. Chevron says it is one of the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh, employing about 3,000 workers and meeting 35 percent of the country's natural gas needs.

Bangladesh produces about 1,700 MMcfd, against a demand for 1,800 MMcf. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2006 the country’s total gas reserves were estimated to be 5,000 billion cubic feet. Gas production, all of which is consumed domestically, has been steadily increasing.