'Shrinking gas reserve to scuttle PDB's power plan'

The Power Development Board's plan to generate 7,000 megawatt of electricity from gas by 2030 appears uncertain as Petrobangla yesterday said it might not be possible to supply enough gas since the reserve is drying up fast.
“It is better not to expect to generate such a huge amount of electricity from gas,” said Prof Md Hossain Monsur, chairman of Bangladesh Mineral Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrobangla). "If anybody gives such commitment, he or she has to do so on own responsibility."
Monsur was talking to reporters at his office in the capital on the development of the gas sector in the last three years.
He made the comments in reference to the power system master plan of the PDB to generate around 8,850 MW of electricity by using domestic natural gas or liquefied natural gas.
The country has consumed 10.74 trillion cubic feet of gas as of 2011 out of its proven and probable reserves of 20.61 tcf.
The Petrobangla chief said Bangladesh must explore alternative sources in coal, nuclear and renewable energies as the country's natural gas reserve is drying up fast. "We will need 22 to 23 tcf gas up to 2021, which means we will have to discover another 7 to 8 tcf of gas.”
“After 2021, our gas reserve could dry up. We have little potential too. Only non-technical people can say that the country is floating on gas."
Bangladesh now produces 2,064mmcfd of gas against the demand for over 2,500mmcfd, according to Monsur.
At present, power plants get a supply of 715 million cubic feet of gas a day against a demand for 920mmcfd. The gas shortage causes 500 to 700 MW less power generation, according to PDB.