Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker has said that the government has taken massive initiatives to increase gas production from local sources.
He added that the authorities are also considering providing residential gas supply if more gas sources are found.
Zanendra Nath Sarker was speaking at a views exchange meeting in Sylhet on Friday.
Md Altaf Hossain, director of Petrobangla (Administration), presided over the program held at the conference hall of Jalalabad Gas T & D System Ltd.
During a presentation by Farzana Rahman, assistant manager of Petrobangla, among the special guests were Joint Secretary of Water and Mineral Resources Division Md Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury, district Additional Divisional Commissioner Md Jasim Uddin, Managing Director of Sylhet Gas Fields Limited Engineer Md Mizanur Rahman and Managing Director of Jalalabad Gas T & D System Ltd Engineer Manzoor Ahmad Chowdhury.
The Petrobangla chairman said: “We are currently dealing with a gas shortage. In this situation, steps have been taken to increase gas production from domestic sources. As part of this move, 49 wells have been planned to be drilled in the financial year 2024-25. A total of 100 wells will be identified in 2026-28. Besides, the draft of ‘Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract' (PSC) has been approved for oil and gas exploration in deep and shallow seas.”
Zanendra Nath Sarkar also said that the 2150mmcfd (million cubic feet per day) gas currently being connected to the national grid from domestic sources is from the Sylhet region. Gas obtained from the Bhola area is not yet connected to the national grid. But currently demand is around 4,000mmcfd. At present, 800 or 850mmcfd is being added to domestically sourced gas from the two LNG terminals. In total, Petrobangla's gas transmission or distribution capacity is about 3,000mmcf. In other words, there is a shortage of about 1,000mmcf.”
Apart from the domestic 2150mmcfd gas, the government is purchasing LNG at the rate of Tk60 per cubic meter. In this context, he said, the government has to buy gas at Tk60 and sell it at Tk18. However, due to the low price of domestic gas, the average price of gas per cubic meter has been falling between Tk24 and 25.
In terms of gas supply, priority is currently being given to industry, fertilizer and power sectors. He stated that the remaining gas has to be distributed by keeping these three priorities in mind. As a result, residential demand is not being met. After enough gas is obtained, residential connections will be considered, he added.
However, Zanendra Nath Sarkar also pointed out that the government has not increased gas prices for residential customers. He said that in future 100% residential customers will be brought under the prepaid meter system.
Referring to Sylhet as holy land, he said: “Now there is a possibility of obtaining oil from this region. It is one of the sources of gas collection from domestic sources.”
Referring to Haripur No 10 well, he said, it is a strange well. In this well, gas was found in two layers and oil in one layer. He mentioned that there are huge reserves of gas in this well.
Stating that Petrobangla has taken initiatives to reduce system losses, he said that the supply of gas in the pipeline has been ensured to prevent theft. System loss in Jalalabad is very less. There is no illegal connection in Jalalabad and everyone should keep to legal means.
