Despite the extreme crisis, gas-rich Rashidpur-9 well was left unimportant for a few years. After the start of the work, now there is a tug of war between the Forest department and the Sylhet gas field.
The well can extract 14-19 million cubic feet of gas per day. Extraction of gas is possible only by hooking up with existing pipelines. The well has been abandoned for 5 years without doing that work. Sylhet Gas Field Company's argument is that there is no pipeline, due to which the gas cannot be extracted. The earlier line up to Rashidpur-7 well is unusable. Due to which the project of construction of 17 km pipeline was taken up.
After the publication of several reports on the online news portal Barta24.com, the hydro test in July 2022 revealed that the existing pipe line was fit for use. After that it was decided to hook up the existing line in well number 7 (Rashidpur-9). Yet another year passed, but no resolution.
Managing Director of Sylhet Gas Field Mizanur Rahman told Barta24.com that some trees of the forest have to be cut for the construction of the pipeline. An application has been made for permission to fell trees. We want to finish the work within one month after getting the approval. We are maintaining regular contact with the Forest department.
On February 12 this year, a letter was sent to the Forest department to cut the trees. In view of that letter, the Forest department formed a committee, they gave a report, but the issue has not been resolved. For several months, the issue was raised in inter-ministerial meetings regarding RADP, where each time it was decided to contact the Forest department. But real progress is not visible. That is why the well is sitting with huge stock. Sylhet Gas Field Company as well as Energy and Mineral Resources Division are concerned about the potential well. It is not getting any importance even in extreme crises in the country. Even when the import of LNG stopped due to high prices in the international market, the abandoned well went unnoticed.
Instead, focus is shifted to the other side. A huge effort is underway to bring 5 million (in the first phase) of gas from Bhola in the form of CNG to alleviate the gas crisis. Petrobangla has recently signed an agreement with Interco Refueling Limited. The company will transport the gas from Bhola and supply it to the western areas of Dhaka. Interco will have to be paid Tk. 30.60 per cubic meter of gas. While industrial plants get Tk. 18.02 (large industries) for pipeline gas, the price of this gas is Tk. 47.60. It is a bit more like a joke than a khazna.
However, the way Petrobangla, the Division of Energy and Mineral Resources and even the Prime Minister's Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor took their credit standing on the stage of the agreement signing ceremony, it would seem that they have discovered a new planet.
Chairman of Petrobangla Janendra Nath Sarkar said, I was given instructions in this regard after I took charge in January. We were able to finalize the Bhola gas supply within a few months. I thank my colleagues for this.
The prime minister's advisor on power, energy and mineral resources said that the government's main goal is to solve the current problems. If we work together, we can go a long way. If we had hired consultants, they would have taken a long time. But Interco managed to do it in a quick time. It will not only increase the supply but also eliminate the crisis.
Former member of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, energy expert Maqbul E-Elahi Chowdhury told Barta24.com that gas could have been brought from Rashidpur before gas was brought from Bhola. The work could be done within a month or two. There is no risk here like bringing gas from Bhola, and uninterrupted supply is possible. Again that price would have been affordable. It is a big surprise why that work has not been done so far.
Only 5 million will come from Bhola in the first phase, with plans to bring in another 20 million later. However, if the effort was taken to extract it, several times more gas could have come from Rashidpur at a price of less than Tk. 1. Neither Petrobangla nor the Energy Division has any interest in that.
Energy expert Dr. Badrul Imam said, the benefit of not raising the domestic gas is more than the gain. Import may be subject to commission. It's not just from today, but historically there has been stagnation in research. A change is expected when the government changes, but it did not change that way. Rather, new clauses have been added to the earlier clauses. If this is the case, the gas sector will be completely dependent on imports in 30 years.
Dr. Badrul Imam thinks that today's crisis is due to the stagnation in oil and gas exploration in the country. He said, USGS in one of their survey reports said that another 32 tcf of gas remains undiscovered in Bangladesh. At present 1 tcf of gas is being used per annum thus there are another 32 years of reserves. Today's crisis is due to the fact that domestic gas exploration activities are not at the right pace. Due to the deadlock, LNG has to be imported at high prices today.