State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Sunday said that the country will be out of scheduled load-shedding altogether by the end of next month.
Speaking at a seminar titled "Bangladesh's Energy Security and Volatile International Market", he also said that the move was only temporary, and they will soon come out of it if the global conditions improved.
The state minister further said that if global oil prices come down, the government would adjust local prices accordingly, adding that prices may need to be adjusted several times over the next few months.
The seminar was organized by the Forum for Energy Reporters of Bangladesh (FERB), moderated by its executive director Nishan Nasrullah and keynote presentation by Mollah Amzad Hossain, former FERB chairman and editor of Energy & Power magazine.
"The current situation is just like the global situation, which has hit our country too. Our annual investigations say that it is not possible to meet the demand with the amount of gas we are extracting, for which we have to import," Nasrul Hamid further said.
"After 2009 there has been a lot of investment in the industry. The demand for gas has increased exponentially. The production of gas has increased by 1000 million cubic feet in the last 10 years. We have found a gas field in Bhola, which we are trying to onshore. But it is time-consuming," the state minister also said.
"There is no shortage in our efforts to tackle the crisis. We were good a few months ago. Earlier fuel was cheap, now the price has increased. We are moving away from fuel-run power plants. They have no capacity charge. They will only be used on an emergency basis from now on," he added.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is notable among the power plants being set up in the southern region. Even if the plant commences operations on time, the risk of sitting out due to transmission lines remains, Mollah Amzad Hossain said in his keynote presentation.
"Petrol and octane prices have increased the most this time. As a result, prices of all things are increasing in the market. All of Europe is now going back to coal. We also need to return to coal now," he suggested.
Urgent steps should be taken to extract coal from Phulbari and Khalaspur coal mines. A political decision has to be made regarding coal mining, which needs to be made by 2025. If not, the crisis may increase in the future, Hossain also said.
Fuel prices should be fixed through Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). Also, regular price adjustments should be made like in India. Projects should not be taken based on political considerations. There are many such projects which were not effective and are sitting idle, he added.
"Initiatives are being taken to explore offshore oil and gas. We see several possibilities. Gas demand will decrease in 2025-26, while extraction will increase," said Md Mahbub Hossain, senior secretary at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
"We want to maintain the current situation, and not let it deteriorate further. These initiatives are being taken so that it does not get worse in future. This price coordination was necessary at this moment," he added.
Today gas production is down to 2300 million cubic feet. Both Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex) and Gazprom are working. The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) amendment will be submitted by the consulting company by this month. Tenders are being considered at the end of this year, said Nazmul Ahsan, chairman of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (PetroBangla.)
Regarding coal mining, he said that it can be extracted from Barapukuria for six more years.
Plans are being taken to consider the transition to other coal mines, he also said.
The BERC will determine the price of fuel oil. The commission will adjust these prices through public hearing. BPC will apply as a licensee. The government is continuously giving subsidies. There are allegations of non-transparency against BPC. It needs to be cleared, said Prof Shamsul Alam.
"Out of the 5 gas fields bought during Bangabandhu's time at bargain prices, of which two were quite large. The main problem is fuel, as we neglected our own resources. Geologists believe that domestic gas is still there. If it had been extracted, the situation today would not have arisen," said Prof Badrul Imam of Dhaka University's Geology department.
The favourable inflation rate in July will worsen in the next few months, with instability in all the sectors. Crisis in the energy sector was always there, which is why more investment needs to be made on renewable energy, said economist Prof Mahfuz Kabir.
FERB chairman Shamim Jahangir presided over the seminar.
