http://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/153817/‘Bangladesh-holds-largest-oil-gas-reserves-in-Asia-Pacific’
‘Bangladesh holds largest oil, gas reserves in Asia Pacific’
Staff Correspondent 25th July, 2016 10:29:04
The maritime exclusive economic zone of Bangladesh holds one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific. The country is at present the 7th largest producer of natural gas in Asia.
The gas supplied by the producers meet 61.69 percent of the domestic energy needs and the country is a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products.
Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) made the observation at a ceremony on signing a MoU between Servigas Company, the subsidiary of Butane Group of Iran and Star Infrastructurte Development Consortium Ltd of Bangladesh.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Power and Energy, Dr. Abbas Vaezi, Ambassador of Iran to Bangladesh, A.R. Khan, Chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission of Bangladesh, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, First Vice President, FBCCI, representatives from Servigas Company of Iran, Iran business delegation and officials of Star Infrastructure Development Consortium Ltd attended the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Matlub said, the energy sector of Bangladesh is dominated by state-owned companies, including Petrobangla and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Gazprom and ONGC are major international companies engaged in Bangladesh’s hydrocarbon industry; and Chevron’s gas fields accounting 50 percent of natural gas production, he mentioned.
The country under its vision 2021 aims at generating electricity of 24,000MW by 2021 and 60,000MW by 2041 to meet the growing demand, FBCCI chief said.
“For FBCCI, this is one of the major achievements to see an actual business collaboration taking place which is a part of its ongoing efforts to promote investment in the country,” commented Matlub.
Appraising the Iranian business delegation of the natural gas and LPG outlook of Bangladesh, Matlub said,
“There is estimated 27.12 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas from 26 gas fields, while the current supply per day is 2740 mmcf against the demand for 3300 mmcf. The country’s proven recoverable gas reserves is 20.77 tcf and the total production till now is 13.52 tcf, he mentioned.
LP Gas Limited under the BPC has been supplying LPG from their Chittagong and Sylhet plants through their distribution companies Padma, Meghna, Jamuna and Asiatic Oil Company Limited since 1998.
LPG industry in the country gained momentum during the period 1998-2002 following the start of LPG distribution by private sector companies.
Total LPG gas demand by private and public sectors is 3.50 lakh mmcfd annually whereas total supply of LPG by all sector is only 1.80 lakh mmcfd.
UNB adds: Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the government has been promoting LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for households and other purposes as part of its energy source diversification plan.
Responding to an appeal of business leaders, he said the government would consider removing tax-related bottlenecks in its way of promotion.
The leading members of the 16-member “Star Infrastructure Development Consortium” include Nitol Niloy Group and Unique Group. Officials of the consortium and Servigas signed the MoU at the function. The consortium will initially invest $12 million to set up the plant.
Matlub said once the production facilities are set up, the local LPG production and supply companies will get LPG bottles and other facilities at a cheaper price. He said the consortium is hopeful of setting the plant within the next 8-12 months.
Matlub said about 50 big companies have come into the LPG business investing about Tk 900 crore. These companies will require huge LPG bottles, trucks and other facilities that the Bangladesh-Iran joint venture company will meet.
The Iranian ambassador said there is a huge potential to grow bilateral business between Dhaka and Tehran. He said Tehran has huge technological and engineering advancements which Dhaka can share for its development in the energy sector.
