Gas reserves running out: A far-sighted strategy needed
THE current state of Bangladesh’s gas sector is facing one of the worst crises in its recent history, as supply shortages continue to deepen across residential, industrial, transport, and fertilizer sectors.
According to a report published in this newspaper yesterday, hundreds of factories in Dhaka and its surrounding areas have either suspended operations or are running at a fraction of capacity.
Among the hardest hit sectors, the ready-made garment (RMG) and textiles are the backbone of the country’s export earnings. However, the gas shortage is not limited to factories only.
Households across the country are also facing severe cooking gas scarcity, forcing many families to rely on costly alternatives like LPG cylinders or electric stoves, which in turn are pushing up food prices and daily living expenses.
As reported, the immediate trigger is the disruption at Excelerate Energy’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Moheshkhali.
A fire and subsequent mechanical damage in late July sharply reduced LNG supply to the national grid by an estimated 450-500 million cubic feet per day.
Daily national gas availability has fallen well below demand, leaving industrial areas with critically low or zero pressure.
The report further reveals that reserves across the country’s 22 active gas fields have dwindled to just 7.63 trillion cubic feet.
If no new major gas field is discovered, this vital natural resource will be completely exhausted within the next 12 to 13 years.
Yet, against a current daily demand of approximately 4 billion cubic feet, the combined supply from domestic and imported sources amounts to only 2.60 to 2.65 billion cubic feet.
Needless to say, the root causes of this unwelcome crisis lie in the flawed policies of the past decade or so, a lack of structural planning, and persistent neglect regarding oil and gas exploration across both land and maritime territories.
Although a programme was undertaken to drill 150 wells at a cost of thousands of crores of taka, work on only 30 wells has been completed so far.
Economists warn that the gas crisis will worsen inflation, strain supply chains, and undermine economic recovery.
The current gas crisis is a stark reminder of Bangladesh’s fragile energy security, driven by declining domestic gas fields, over-reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), and sudden technical failures at floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs).
Given the limited potential for discovering major fields onshore, the primary task now should be to expedite exploration activities in both the shallow and deep waters of the Bay of Bengal through a swift and transparent international tender process.
