Crisis of natural gas in Dhaka and other parts of the country has worsened in recent days so much so that suspension of operations of around a dozen gas-fired power plants has failed to improve supply to households and industries.
Gas exploration and distribution agencies said gas supply to power plants and fertiliser factories amid decreased production caused the crunch.
Petrobangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation) is sitting with the gas distribution companies on Thursday to work out a strategy to end the supply shortage.
The state-run corporation’s Director (Operations) Md Kamruzzaman said there was a huge gap between production and demand.
Speaking to bdnews24.com, he said: “It’s obvious that there will be problem as adequate gas is not being produced to match the demand. Presently, everyday demand-supply gap is 500 million cubic meters (Mmcf).
“We have to tackle the situation with this shortage.”
Largest gas distributor Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company said they were facing a daily deficit of 200 Mmcf.
Titas Director (Operations) Meer Moshiur Rahman told bdnews24.com: “We’re distributing 1.45 to 1.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas every day. We could have tackled the demand had we got another 200 Mmcf.”
The latest spell of gas crisis began late Aug following resumption of production at five fertiliser factories.
According to Petrobangla, 170 Mmcf gas was supplied to seven fertiliser factories and 980 Mmcf to power plants on Wednesday against their demand for 280 Mmcf and 1.34 bcf respectively.
Around 50 percent of the total gas produced is consumed by power and fertiliser plants and the rest by households and factories.
Petrobangla Director Kamruzzaman said: “Since there is no way to meet all the demand, we’re tackling the shortage taking into consideration every aspect.”
According to information on the Power Development Board website, 11 gas-based power plants, having a combined 942 megawatts generation capacity, were kept shut on Wednesday because of a supply shortage of the raw material.
The Board said the production suspension aggravated the load-shedding.
Titas said Petrobangla did not respond positively to its request for enhancing gas supply by 150 Mmcf a day.
But, the Petrobangla Director, wondered: “Where from will we supply more gas if it’s not available?”
According to Petrobangla, daily gas production has increased by 600 Mmcf to 2.3 bcf after the Awami League-led government assumed office in early 2009.
Source: bdnews24
