Petrobangla cuts 1,000mmcf gas from national grid

Shahnaj Begum : Industries, power plants, CNG stations, re-rolling mills and household activities have almost came to a halt on Wednesday as Petrobangla, the state-owned oil and gas corporation, has abnormally cut 1,000 mmcf gas supply from the national grid for the first time in the country’s history.
To keep the power supply normal, the Power Development Board (PDB) was compelled to run the high cost liquid fuel-fired power plants for which it (PDB) is paying Tk 28 crore per day.
“We are getting only 700 to 734 mmcf of gas against our demand of 1,100 mmcf, we are able to supply electricity as per demand as it is winter and the demand is low but to run the high cost power plants we are paying a  huge amount of money per day,” a senior official of the Power Division said.
Titas Gas Transmission and     Distribution Company is getting only 1,600 mmcf gas against its regular demand of around 4,000 mmcf gas per day.
“The situation will become normal after January 25 as two LNG cargo ships are scheduled to arrive at Chittagong Port on January 22 and 24 carrying about 2.70 million mmbtu LNG from spot market,” a senior official of the Energy Division claimed.
Petrobangla said an abnormal hike in LNG tariff in the international market is the main cause of gas shortage in the national grid, due to price hike and cargo shortage, the Energy Division has failed to procure LNG from spot market.
Some 400mmbtu of imported LNG will be supplied to the grid until February, down from the regular volume of 550- 650mmbtu, the official added.
However, Petrobangla is currently supplying only 2,700mmcfd of gas against the demand of 3,500mmcfd. Titas gas Transmission and Distribution Company (Titas) has started unprecedented supply cut at power plants, residential areas, CNG stations and slum areas of the capital.
 “Due to gas shortage we cut the amount, we have to cut 200 million British thermal units (mmbtu) LNG supply from the grid, however, gas production at local gas fields has also dropped which are worsening the crisis,” a senior official of Petrobangla told this correspondent on Wednesday.
The official claimed that Petrobangla is maintaining a steady supply of natural gas to industries but the industries situated at Gazipur, Savar and Narayanganj areas and across the country are getting gas at a low pressure level for the last one week.
Meanwhile, consumers in most of the city localities have been experiencing low gas pressure for the last few days.
“For last one week, we were not able to prepare our breakfast as the burners dried out. We could start cooking our food from 2:30pm. This is a perennial problem but who cares,” a frustrated consumer said.
Residents of Gulshan, Baridhara, Mohakhali, Rajabazar, Indira Road, Jatrabari and Gendaria and parts of Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Kalabagan, Kanthalbagan, Jatrabari, Khilgaon, Bashabo, Malibagh, Rampura, Banasree, Badda and Uttara have complained about acute low pressure of gas for the past two weeks.Recent cold wave worsened the situation due to rise in demand for natural gas for heating water and due to ‘condensate problem’ in the gas transmission and distribution lines.