Power and Energy: Next two years crucial

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid yesterday said the next two years would be critical for the energy and power sectors.

He said the country needs to move forward faster during this period to meet the increasing demand and ensure energy security as different projects slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.

"We need to increase our local gas production by 600 mmcfd… We will start building a gas pipeline from Bhola to Khulna, and replace all old ones in Dhaka and Narayanganj to bring those under an automated system… Achieving these goals will be a huge challenge."

The state minister was addressing a seminar titled "Highest Utilisation of Natural Resources of Bangladesh: Philosophy of Bangabandhu". Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) organised the event at its Motijheel office in the capital, with FBCCI President Jashim Uddin in the chair.

"We have built 260km pipeline under the ocean from Moheshkhali to Patenga, which will save us about Tk 1,000 crore a year. We will supply fuel from Patenga to Dhaka through another pipeline which is also almost complete," Nasrul said.

He said the government has increased fuel storage depots in Moheshkhali, Patenga, Khulna and Baghabari.

About import of LNG, the state minister said this will not increase dependency on imports. "It will be a short-term solution until we have more gas from local sources."

He said the government target now is to provide uninterrupted electricity at an affordable price.

Presenting the keynote paper, Badrul Imam, honorary professor at Dhaka University's Geology department, said the country should emphasise rigorous gas exploration.

"We still have two-thirds of our land and the entire offshore area unexplored. Only easy-going gas fields have been discovered so far," he said.

He said depending on local mineral resources was Bangabandhu's philosophy.

The energy expert pointed out that the imported LNG should not be the dominant source of gas supply, rather it should be a supplement to local gas.

The state minister said that LNG will not be the main source of gas in the country. He suggested that entrepreneurs establish their industries in planned areas to get uninterrupted energy supply.

Senior Secretary at Energy Division Md Khairuzzaman Majumder said there will be no gas crisis for industries from 2026.

"We have already signed long term contracts with Qatar and Oman for import of LNG. Efforts are on to sign three more long term deals," he said, adding that signing of contracts was in the final stage to set up more LNG terminals to increase storage and unloading capacities.