150 wells, 10,000MW solar targeted

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Wednesday that the government is stepping up domestic gas exploration, expanding LNG infrastructure and developing alternative energy sources to protect industries from production losses caused by sudden supply shortages.

By 2030-31, the government plans to drill 150 wells, conduct 4,500 line-kilometres of 2D seismic surveys and cover 4,200 square kilometres through 3D seismic surveys, he said in reply to a starred question from reserved women’s-seat MP Sultana Ahmed during a question-and-answer session in parliament chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

Sultana Ahmed had raised concerns over the temporary shutdown of an LNG terminal in July 2026, which caused a gas shortfall of nearly 450 million cubic feet a day and disrupted industrial production. She asked whether the government would arrange alternative supplies, expand LNG storage capacity and introduce an emergency fuel plan to deal with future crises.

Tarique said the exploration and drilling programme was intended to reduce the risk of such shortages, as part of a broader energy masterplan combining conventional, alternative and renewable sources to strengthen energy security and ensure uninterrupted industrial production.

The government announced an international bidding round on 24 May to appoint global firms for oil and gas exploration in 26 offshore blocks, with bids due by November. It has also introduced the “Bangladesh Onshore Model PSC-2026” to attract investment in onshore exploration.

Two floating LNG terminals currently supply an average of 935 million cubic feet of gas a day. Construction is underway on a new floating terminal at Kutubjom in Moheshkhali and a land-based terminal at Matarbari. Regasified LNG from Kutubjom is expected by 2028 and from Matarbari by December 2030.

The government is also assessing another floating terminal at Payra or Mongla port, or at another site along the south-western coast, to further increase supply capacity.

Bhola gas plans
Connecting Bhola’s gas reserves to the national grid by pipeline would take at least seven years, Tarique said. The government therefore plans to use the gas locally by establishing industries, including a fertiliser plant and a 500MW power plant, creating jobs and supporting the local economy.

It is also examining the option of transporting Bhola gas to the mainland in LNG form, with priority given to economic zones, export processing zones and BSCIC industrial areas.

The initiatives are intended to increase domestic gas supplies, reduce dependence on imports and ensure uninterrupted industrial and export production through coordinated exploration and infrastructure development.

Renewable energy push
The government has also set a target of generating at least 20% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 30% by 2040, Tarique told parliament.

Under the National Renewable Energy Development Strategy 2026-2030, the government aims to generate 5,500MW from rooftop solar and 4,500MW from ground-mounted solar by 2030. A further 450-550MW is expected from wind, waste-to-energy, hydropower, floating solar and agrivoltaics.

“Considering the country’s growing electricity demand, the government has identified renewable energy as a priority sector to reduce dependence on imported fuel,” he said in a written response to Meherpur-1 MP Md Tajuddin Khan.

The government is offering conditional duty and tax exemptions on solar equipment. From 1 September 2026, the maximum generation cost for rooftop solar systems with batteries was fixed at Tk8 per unit, while the grid purchase price was set at Tk10.50 per unit.

Consumers who install rooftop solar by 28 February 2027 under the Net Metering Guideline 2025 and supply surplus electricity to the grid will receive the Tk10.50 rate for three years, until 28 February 2030.

The government has also introduced several policies and programmes to expand renewable energy, including the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, Net Metering Guideline 2025 and National Rooftop Solar Programme 2025, as well as guidelines covering waste-to-energy, onshore wind and carbon-credit processing.

Responding to a supplementary question from Tajuddin on free solar power for farmers, Tarique said diesel-powered irrigation pumps would gradually be converted to solar power over the next five years.
“Wherever water pumps are operated by diesel, we will gradually shift all of them to solar power within the next five years, Inshallah,” he said.

In response to MP Nipun Roy Chowdhury, the prime minister said the government was encouraging the use of lithium batteries for solar storage instead of lead-acid batteries, which use environmentally harmful acid.

The government will support local lithium-battery production and may make lithium batteries mandatory for rooftop solar systems in the future.