Md. Muzibur Rahman :
The much demand of gas for household necessities like cooking, commercial or industrial purposes and for electricity production now is a burning question for the nation.
The demand for gas is rising with the rising population both in the rural and urban areas.
To meet that demand, we should first think of getting more gas from our own sources. We are lucky that we have found gas in Cumilla, Sylhet and other areas of the country by which we are meeting the demand of gas.
The gas supply now is the lowest since April 2020, shows data from Petrobangla in a development that informs the acute crisis plaguing the industrial sector as well as households.
At present, the gas supply is about 2,500 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against the demand of 3,800 mmcfd.
Bangladesh ranks 32nd in the world for natural gas consumption, accounting for about 0.8% of the world’s total consumption of 132,290,211 MMcf.
Bangladesh consumes 6,446 cubic feet of natural gas per capita every year (based on the 2017 population of 161,793,964 people), or 18 cubic feet per capita per day.Currently, the country has an annual demand for about 14 lakh tons of LPG, which is increasing continuously.
Once it runs out of natural gas reserves, this demand will increase exponentially.
Byearly 2025, LNG capacity additions could rise to around 18 million mt/year beyond current levels, with the expansion expected to reach more than 53 million mt/year over the course of that year, according to S&P Global Data provided by the government-owned national energy resources company, Petrobangla, show that daily gas consumption in the country currently stands at 3,126 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).
Of this, 2,284 million cubic feet of gas is generated from domestic sources, while the rest is imported from the Middle East.The stakeholders warned that we have a gas reserve for only 10 years.
If no major gas field is discovered in the next few years, the industrial growth and productivity in different sectors will be severely affected.
We know that about 41% of natural gas is used also for fuel for electricity generation and production of urea and ammonia. Currently there are 28 natural gas fields in Bangladesh.
The first gas field was discovered at Haripur, Sylhet in 1955 and the last gas field was discovered in 2017 at Bhola. Titas gas field is the largest natural gas field in Bangladesh.
There are 22 onshore blocks and 26 offshore blocks. Among these offshore blocks, 11 are shallow blocks, where the other 15 are deep sea blocks.
Bangladesh’s annual natural gas consumption is approximately one TCF. A depleting total reserve of 9.54 TCF can only support the energy sector for a maximum of 9-10 years. The total shortfall of natural gas would be 25 BCF by 2030, equivalent to 25000000 MMBtu of LNG.
The chronic dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, coupled with depleting gas reserves, is holding the economy hostage to a perennial energy crisis. Only 21 out of the 29 gas fields are currently operational, resulting in the 60 gas-fired power plants or so receiving just about 55 percent of their needs.
As of now, only one third of the onshore area of Bangladesh has been explored for gas-making it one of the least explored nations in the world-even though its success of discovering gas has been way above the world average.Local gas production has been declining since 2016 and if it is left this way, existing reserves will be exhausted in nine to 10 years, experts warn.
This is a situation that we must strive to avoid. The solution is not unknown: exploring and lifting gas from below the ground may significantly boost gas production, meet our energy demands, and also lead to more stable prices. Being one of the largest deltas, Bangladesh is likely rich in natural gas resources.
For more than a decade, exploration has been very slow, almost insignificant. Geological analyses of the region suggests there is substantial potential for gas discovery. To do that, we can, 1) conduct a feasibility study or geological survey on the offshore & onshore areas, 2) team building by engineers & expert with the related field, 3) can hire foreign expert if needed.
We, therefore, urge the authorities to execute a proper domestic gas exploration program to prevent further deterioration of the current crisis, and put an end to citizens’ sufferings. More exploration of gas will lead the country towards self-sufficiency of gas & to meet the rising demand for household consumption, electricity generation & more gas supply to industrial production.
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