Gas gap keeps yawning

The gas supply crisis in and around the city showed no signs of improvement yesterday, affecting both domestic and bulk consumers.

Titas Gas Managing Director Abdul Baset said the supply situation is unlikely to improve throughout the winter.

A source in the Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) said the problem would not have arisen had the Taka 500 crore Ashuganj-Elenga 30 inch second pipeline project been implemented. This project - that seeks to increase gas flow to Dhaka and its adjacent areas - is stuck in Petrobangla for the last one year.

The gas crisis has affected indus trial production in Savar Export Processing Zone, Manikganj, and Joydevpur industrial belt. The Power Development Board (PDB) has been forced to cut power generation by about 300 MW since Sunday.

Over 20 localities in the city are affected by low gas pressure, or almost nil gas flow during daytime. However, gas supply improves at night.

Every winter the gas supply falls, on varying degrees, as low temperature reduces the gas-flow capacity of the pipelines. A severe cold and an increase in gas consumption worsened the crisis from Sunday last.

Against a gas production of 1103 mmcfd Sunday, the consumption was 1163 mmcfd. This extra gas came from storage inside the 1200 km of pipelines. As the consumption was higher than the supply, the gas flow pressure fell, said GTCL sources. The condition remained unchanged yesterday.

The gas flow was less than usual Sunday also because three wells in Kailashtila gas-field were shut down for maintenance. Instead of producing 60 mmcfd, Kailashtila supplied only 4 mmcfd Sunday. However, it resumed normal production yesterday.

The Titas gas system is facing extra pressure because the PDB has launched operation of the Ghorashal power unit 4. Combined with five other power plants, the Ghorashal units were producing 890 MW power Sundayconsuming, at the rate of 8 million cubic feet per hour, 192-mmcfd gas. But by the evening the gas pressure fell down to 6.5 million cubic feet per hour and power production came down to 600 MW, said a PDB source.

Titas could have had augmented gas supply from Sangu field in Chittagong, as the Rauzan 210 MW power plant remains inoperative for maintenance. However, due to lack of pipeline facilities, the Sangu gas could not be diverted, GTCL sources said.

Worse still, some industrial consumers in Narayanganj --with the help of a section of unscrupulous Titas meter readers, ledger writers and officials-- were stealing a huge quantity of gas. The Titas management and the energy ministry are well aware of these criminal activities, but they refrain from punishing the criminals because of their ' political connections', said a Petrobangla source. "The pilferage is depriving genuine customers of gas," he noted.