Officials of Titas gas, the entity responsible for supplying gas in the greater Dhaka area, have identified seven reasons for the acute gas crisis that has become a regular phenomenon during winter in the capital and its outskirts.
The crisis, mainly associated with low pressure of gas in the supply lines at the user end, has hit domestic activities and the CNG refuelling stations the hardest.
In many areas in the Dhaka Metropolitan, kitchens burners cannot be lit before late afternoon and long queues can be seen in front of refuelling stations, who cannot fill up vehicle cylinders because of low pressure of gas.
According to Titas officials, the first reason is that Petrobangla, the state-owned oil company of Bangladesh, has failed to increase gas supply in line with the ever-climbing demand.
Second, slow progress of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom in drilling 10 development wells in different gas fields has also contributed to the crisis.
Third, the commissioning of two new gas compressor stations in Brahmanbaria and Tangail that could have played a role in eradicating low pressure, has been delayed.
The fourth cause is the more usual thing that happens in winter. Because of low temperature, condensate accumulation goes up obstructing the proper flow in the pipelines. Natural-gas condensate is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from gas fields.
Fifth is the ancient 1.5 inch pipelines that are still used for supplying gas in many areas of the capital. Officials said had the pipes been broader, many households in Dhaka would not have faced the low pressure problem.
Sixth is another cause associated with winter. During the season, demand for gas, especially in the households, goes up because people need more fuel for heating activities such as boiling water, warming up rooms and clothes, and so on.
The last reason identified was that the new connections that the government has started awarding in May last year after a pause, had also contributed in taking the demand further above supply. According to unofficial sources, since May, the authorities have awarded 50,000-60,000 new connections in the urban areas without any significant rise in production.
Taslima Khatun, a domestic user from the city’s Mirpur area, complained that she had been getting gas for her burner only from midnight until early morning. “The rest of the day we do not get any gas.”
Asma Begum, a housewife from the city’s Tejgaon area, said she had been getting any meaningful gas only twice a day – early morning and late evening.
Apart from these two areas, hundreds of households in the capital’s Shewrapara, Kazipara, Khilgaon, Mohammadpur,Taltola, Shyamoli, East Rajabazar, Kafrul, Kollayanpur, Malibagh and Jatrabari have been reeling from the crisis. Things have also been particularly tough for the CNG refuelling stations as well.
“We are forced to keep the stations shut because of the low pressure of gas, resulting in long queues of buses, taxis and three-wheelers and creating traffic congestion on the adjacent roads,” President of Bangladesh CNG Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association Zakir Hossain Nayan told the Dhaka Tribune.
The CNG filling stations usually suffer from the acutest of crises from 8am-5pm, he said.
“The government has recently decided to provide gas to the fertiliser factories. That has contributed immensely to the crisis,” said Nowshad Islam, managing director of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company.
“Usually during winter we cut supply to the fertiliser factories and power plants to help overcome the crisis. But this time did not do that.
“About 100 million cubic feet of gas is supplied to the fertiliser factories every day. Moreover, around 400mmcfd goes to the power stations. That has resulted in greater shortage in supply,” he said.
