Govt plans big for LNG: state minister
The government has a robust plan for liquefied natural gas as a new era has begun with the arrival of the country’s first consignment of imported LNG, State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said yesterday.
“We want to go big in LNG because the financing is available. LNG is technologically better, as the cleaner energy needs less land.”
He spoke at a seminar on “LNG import: opportunities and challenges”, at the Dhaka Club. The Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) organized the discussion.
The comments from the state minister came as the first shipment of LNG has reached the Bay of Bengal; the LNG would be supplied to the national grid from this month.
Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Ltd has set up floating storage and regasification unit-based LNG terminal with a capacity of pumping 500 million cubic feet gas a day (mmcfd) into the network.
Hamid said the introduction of LNG would create huge opportunities for factories whose production has long been affected due to the lack of adequate energy supply.
He also admitted that the country was late in exploring its energy potential in the Bay. “We should immediately go for a multi-client survey and float the tender for the sea blocks.”
Hamid said the government also plans to allow electric vehicles as this mode of transportation would rule the roads in the coming years.
He said inefficient power plants would be phased out as part of the government’s plan to bring down oil-based power production to 10 percent in four to five years from 35 percent now.
The government and industry owners should sit together so a good retail price for LNG can be finalized because this is a national issue, said M Tamim, a professor of the petroleum and mineral resources engineering of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
He also said there is no point to stop supplying gas to households.
M Muktadir Ali, a former chairman of Petrobangla, called for strengthening state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd.
“If we can’t strengthen Bapex, the country’s energy security will not be ensured.”
Prof M Shamsul Alam, an energy adviser of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said Bangladesh would not be able to overcome the current energy crisis even if 500mmcfd gas is imported.
“The existing consumers would get more gas while additional gas will be required as the government plans to provide new connections.”
According to official data, around 16 percent of all gas goes to households, but the actual figure would not be more than 5 percent, he said.
Many factories and industrial units use stolen gas, Alam said. So, the government will not need to implement its current plan of raising the gas price if the theft could be prevented.
Saleque Sufi, an energy expert, said LNG is a necessity for the country under the present circumstances.
A former energy adviser to the Afghan government, Sufi said Bangladesh should put the right professionals in the right places. He called for activating supervisory control and data acquisition for stopping pilferages in the distribution channel.
Because of the inefficiency in the system and unbridled corruption, the government failed to provide gas at lower prices, he said. Arun Karmaker, FERB chairman, and Sadrul Hasan, executive director, also spoke.