Low supply from Bhola gas field hinders full utilisation

The supply of gas from Bhola in cylinders commenced last December, in an effort to address the gas crisis in industries. It created an opportunity to utilise the gas extracted from the gas field located in the island district.

But the gas supply still remains significantly inadequate, despite consistent demands from major industries. Currently, less than 3.5 per cent of the desired amount is reaching the industries. 

A number of companies had expressed interest to avail the contract of supplying gas from the gas field in cylinders in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG). 

Intraco secured the contract eventually and was supposed to gradually raise the daily supply of gas to 25 million cubic feet. At the initial phase, it was supposed to bring 5 million cubic feet of CNG gas and supply 145,710 cubic meters of gas a day. 

According to sources, the company is now supplying only 4,000-5,000 cubic meters of gas daily. 

The failure has been attributed to logistical and technical setbacks, including the time-consuming process of installing Reduction Control Units (RCUs) in factories to regulate gas pressure.

At the Bhola gas field, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) extracts gas, while the Sundarbans Gas Company purchases the gas and supplies to the consumer level.

Intracto signed an agreement last year, to purchase the gas from the Sundarbans Gas Company and supply to the industries. 

Touhidur Rahman, general manager of Sundarbans Gas Company, said they maintain the capacity to supply the required amount of gas. 

A responsible source at the gas company said it usually takes four to five days for a truck to transport gas cylinders to Dhaka and return to Bhola. Intraco now owns five trucks, with a gas transportation capacity of 4000-5000 cubic meters each. 

But the company is now supplying gas to Dhaka through a single truck, essentially reducing supply of gas from the Bhola gas field. 

Shifting the blame to technical issues, Intraco said they are installing RCUs at factories as the gas remains in cylinders in high pressure and it is required to reduce the gas pressure while supplying to industries. Installation of a RCU usually takes up to 2.5 months. 

Riyad Ali, managing director of the company, said the allocation of initial 5 million cubic feets of gas has been finalised. It is now taking time to install RCUs as per demand of the factories. 

He hoped that the supply would rise from April and reach full capacity in May. However, the new requisitions might not be met until December.