‘Why are we struggling for fuel?’

Why did the government not enhance the exploration capacity of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) since independence, asked speakers at a roundtable yesterday.

They also wanted to know what the power subsidy was used for.

The roundtable, titled "Power and Energy Crisis: Citizen Thoughts", was organised by Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.

Dr Anu Muhammad, former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, said, "For the last 20 years, we have been hearing that Bapex has no exploration capability, and we need help from international oil companies. But enhancing capability needs proper planning. Did we ever take such initiatives?"

While explaining the reasons behind leaving energy sources unexplored, Anu said it is a ploy to give businesses to private companies and receive commissions by importing LNG (liquefied natural gas).

"Over Tk 90,000 crore subsidies were spent in capacity building in the power sector, but we could not use the maximum capacity in the last 11 years. Of the payment, only 12 companies got about Tk 60,000 crore," said the eminent economist.

"When the government passed the indemnity act on power in 2010, we said the government wanted to do something illegal. But what the government did afterwards was beyond our imagination," he added.

In the keynote presentation, energy expert Badrul Imam said the main reasons behind the ongoing crisis are slow exploration and increasing dependency on gas imports.

"The country's gas production is declining since 2017, and there is no initiative to increase production and explore new gas fields," he said. "Tripura, a small state in India, made 170 exploratory wells, while Bangladesh made only 98 wells till now."

He expressed disappointment over the slow progress in sea exploration. "We earned the rights to the sea in 2012. While Myanmar got gas from their part of the sea, we could not."

Former Director General of Power Cell of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources BD Rahmatullah said, "All the plans after 1995 included increasing the renewable portion of energy by 10 percent, but nothing of that sort happened," he said.

Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said people are suffering as a result of fuel price hikes as their living costs increased.

"Instead of focusing on the poverty-afflicted population, the government only takes initiatives of building structures in the name of mega projects. Such projects were taken to benefit the ruling party leaders and activists," he said.

Ganosamhati Andolan Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki said the government is doing "commission business" in the name of LNG import.

Dhaka University Professor Robaet Ferdous, and journalists Mollah M Amzad Hossain and Arun Karmakar joined the programme among others.