Photo: Collected
Low pressure in the Bay of Bengal reduced supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the two floating terminals to the national grid. Due to this, gas pressure has decreased in different parts of the country. It is known that the supply of LNG to the national grid has been reduced by about 700 million cubic feet. As a result, severe gas shortage has occurred in homes and industries in different parts of the country including the capital city of Dhaka.
Due to this, electricity production has decreased by about 1 thousand megawatts. In this situation, load shedding has also increased in different parts of the country amid the intense heat. It is known that 1 thousand 77 million cubic feet of LNG was supplied to the national grid on May 23. Altogether the amount of reservoir was 3 thousand 96 million cubic feet.
Bangladesh has two floating LNG terminals in the deep sea off Maheshkhali in the district of Cox's Bazar. LNG is procured by ship and then regasified through the terminal and supplied to the national grid by pipeline. However, if the sea is rough, the operation of the floating terminal is disrupted. According to the sources and data provided by Petrobangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation), due to the low pressure in the sea, the supply from the two LNG terminals located in the deep sea of Maheshkhali has been reduced to prevent accidents. Gas supply from the floating LNG terminal was stopped a number of times as a precautionary measure a day before Cyclone Mokha hit in May last year. As a result, the gas crisis in the entire country became dire.
Then it took more than two weeks for the situation to return to normal stage.
Gas prices were increased in the year of 2023 with the promise of uninterrupted and regular supply, but the crisis did not end after that. It is a matter of sorrow that we are not getting uninterrupted supply of gas even at higher prices. The gas crisis in the country sometimes becomes outrageous.
Entrepreneurs including several industrial owners are especially concerned about this. In fact, the issue of disruption of industrial production due to gas crisis is repeatedly discussed. In the context of increasing demand for gas, quick steps should be taken to solve the problem. It is also necessary to take urgent steps to eliminate corruption and mismanagement in this sector. The risks of import dependence in this sector are widely discussed everywhere.
Therefore import dependence on this sector should also be reduced. Steps should be taken to avoid this situation in the long run. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to take initiatives to implement mega projects in the gas sector. According to experts, although there are many undiscovered gas fields in various parts of the country, there is no significant progress in exploration. We also need to take strong steps in gas exploration in our sea area. If Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) is strengthened to the desired level, it is expected that this institution will be able to give great news to the countrymen in the gas sector.
Messenger/Disha
