Gas supply in the country has increased after more than a month and a half. Following the prime minister’s announcement to increase gas supply to industries, supply began rising from Monday night and increased further yesterday, Tuesday.
Petrobangla officials said industrial consumers were being given the highest priority after the increase in supply. Most of the additional gas is going to the industrial sector.
Petrobangla oversees the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), while its subsidiary, Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), imports it.
Two officials responsible for LNG supply told Prothom Alo that supply was initially disrupted following a fire at a floating terminal. In addition, delays in LNG cargo arrivals due to the war in the Middle East delayed efforts to increase supply. Cargoes are now arriving regularly.
According to Petrobangla sources, although daily gas demand is 3.8 billion cubic feet, the situation has been managed by supplying 2.65 to 2.7 billion cubic feet. Of this, LNG has supplied up to 1.05 billion cubic feet.
At 10:00 pm on Monday, LNG supply was 980 million cubic feet. It increased to 990 million cubic feet on Tuesday. Total gas supply stood at 2.61 billion cubic feet, of which 1.62 billion cubic feet came from domestic gas fields.
Earlier, gas supply from the floating terminal in Maheshkhali operated by US company Excelerate was suspended following a fire on 21 July. Before that, daily supply stood at 2.64 billion cubic feet, with 990 million cubic feet coming from LNG.
Although LNG is now supplying the same amount, production from domestic gas fields has already fallen by 40 million cubic feet.
Petrobangla and RPGCL sources said plans had been made to bring in 10 LNG cargoes in September. Despite several rounds of tenders, all 10 cargoes could not be secured. Prices have also risen significantly.
Two officials responsible for LNG supply told Prothom Alo that supply was initially disrupted following a fire at a floating terminal. In addition, delays in LNG cargo arrivals due to the war in the Middle East delayed efforts to increase supply. Cargoes are now arriving regularly.
A total of nine cargoes have been confirmed for this month. Of these, two are from Gunvor USA under long-term contracts, two from Aramco under short-term contracts and five have been purchased from the spot market, they said.
RPGCL sources said two Aramco cargoes and one each from British Petroleum and Posco have already supplied LNG this month. After that, one Gunvor cargo is expected today, 16 September, followed by one Aramco cargo on 18 September, one TotalEnergies cargo on 23 September, another Aramco cargo on 25 September and one Gunvor cargo on 28 September.
This has created an opportunity to increase LNG supply. Meanwhile, the process of purchasing 11 LNG cargoes for October is under way. Eight cargoes for October have already been confirmed. A tender was invited Tuesday to purchase three more.
Syed Imtiaz Rajib, general manager of Fakir Knitwear Limited in the Kayempur area of Fatullah, Narayanganj, said, “The pressure should be 10 PSI, but we are getting 4 PSI. It has increased somewhat compared with before.”
Amzad Hossain, president of the Narayanganj Dyeing Owners Association, told Prothom Alo that the pressure required to run factories had still not been available as of Tuesday.
Load-shedding continues, but eases somewhat
Although plans were taken to increase electricity generation from coal amid the gas shortage, the generation could not be increased due to coal shortages and technical problems. As a result, load-shedding has continued across the country for a month.
At 1:00 am on Tuesday, load-shedding of more than 2,500 megawatts was required. During the daytime Tuesday, the highest load-shedding was close to 2,000 megawatts.
An initiative was taken to increase generation from oil-fired power plants to reduce load-shedding, but this has not been possible to a greater extent due to insufficient stocks of furnace oil. Generation from oil may be increased after 20 September.
At around midnight on Wednesday, one unit of the Adani power plant was shut down due to a technical failure. This further reduced generation, causing load-shedding to increase across the country. Supply from the plant’s second unit resumed at noon on Sunday. Since then, the plant has been supplying more than 1,400 megawatts during periods of peak demand.
Before the Adani power plant resumed operation, one unit of the Rampal power plant in Bagerhat was shut down at around 11:30 am on Sunday due to a technical problem. After one unit was shut down, the plant generated 610 megawatts Tuesday. It may take another two days for the plant to return to full production.
There are two coal-fired power plants in Patuakhali, built as joint ventures between China and Bangladesh. Each plant was built with a capacity of 1,320 megawatts.
One unit of the Payra power plant is currently shut down due to a technical problem, leaving it to generate 570 megawatts. There is sufficient coal at the plant. At another plant in the same district, generation exceeded 1,000 megawatts Tuesday after coal supplies increased.
Sources at the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) and Power Grid Company said the highest amount of electricity can be generated from coal. However, the coal-fired power plants have been unable to generate at full capacity for a month. Up to 3,500 megawatts is being generated from fuel oil.
At 1:00 am on Tuesday, load-shedding of more than 2,500 megawatts was required. During the daytime Tuesday, the highest load-shedding was close to 2,000 megawatts. Earlier last month, load-shedding of more than 3,500 megawatts had been required. By comparison, load-shedding has therefore decreased.
[Narayanganj correspondent contributed information for this report]