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Published on 12:00 AM, November 06, 2022
Photo: Collected
Staff Correspondent
Instead of exploring for gas, Bangladesh had taken the easy way out by importing gas, said experts at a discussion at the capital yesterday.
Bangladesh is not running out of gas, it has not explored even a fraction of the possible locations, said Badrul Imam, energy expert and former professor at the Department of Geology at Dhaka University, calling Bangladesh one of the least explored countries in the world in terms of gas.
He was speaking at a seminar on the electricity and fuel crisis at the Mozaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Convention Hall of Dhaka University.
"We have only explored one-third of Bangladesh for gas and only explored 10 percent of the sea," he said.
"Whenever oil companies come to explore ... they only focus on easily accessible gas fields. We do not mine for gas that is difficult to find. We do not mine for gas in the sea," added the geologist.
"It has always been proven that gas exploration happens in three stages and that you will get a lot of gas in the first stage. Then this will stop and there will be a plateau. Bangladesh is only at this first stage," he said.
The second stage is where gas in the rocks must be explored, said Prof Imam. "Once that is exhausted, then you have to explore the deep sea, the offshore.
"When the companies could explore, when worldwide exploration was at the peak during 2015-16, we missed the train," he said.
Dr Anu Muhammad, former economics professor of Jahangirnagar University, commented that exploration has always been done to serve corporate interests instead of serving the needs of the country.
Our fuel exploration has been largely export-oriented to the provide for the needs of others, he said.
"During the 1980's, when Bangladesh discovered gas, international development banks had suggested that we export gas.
"Even coal exploration was export-oriented. Coal exploration lobbyists are now active. They say that coal exploration in Phulbari will develop the north -- but this definition of development does not take into account the loss of agricultural land, water and the internal migration it will cost," said Anu Muhammad.
Those who had suggested that gas be exported are now lobbying for coal mining, he opined.
He also criticised how energy production was governed by indemnity laws and that indemnity laws have wrecked the power plant sector.
"There is an indemnity law protecting those working at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project passed in 2015. There is no guarantee that there will not be an accident. Then why is there indemnity?"
BD Rahmatullah, former director general of the energy ministry's Power Cell, said the prospects of wind power were promising. No wind power developed here before due to lower wind speeds and older wind speed projections but now there exists improved turbine technology with higher hub heights and larger rotor diameters to take advantage of these lower wind speed sites, he said.
He referred to an exploratory study done in nine places across the country and said wind speeds of 5.75m to 7.75m per second could produce a total of 34,000MW power. The cost, he said, would be about Tk 9.82/kwh.
"The most megawatt [capacity] installed in any technology should be wind. Not liquid fuel, not coal, not nuclear," he said.
"Wind mill cost is continuously going down all over world. Turbine hub heights are getting higher to take advantage of stronger winds," said Rahmatullah.
www.thedailystar.net
Bangladesh not running out of gas, it hasn’t explored Say experts at seminar
Photo: Collected
Staff Correspondent
Instead of exploring for gas, Bangladesh had taken the easy way out by importing gas, said experts at a discussion at the capital yesterday.
Bangladesh is not running out of gas, it has not explored even a fraction of the possible locations, said Badrul Imam, energy expert and former professor at the Department of Geology at Dhaka University, calling Bangladesh one of the least explored countries in the world in terms of gas.
He was speaking at a seminar on the electricity and fuel crisis at the Mozaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Convention Hall of Dhaka University.
"We have only explored one-third of Bangladesh for gas and only explored 10 percent of the sea," he said.
"Whenever oil companies come to explore ... they only focus on easily accessible gas fields. We do not mine for gas that is difficult to find. We do not mine for gas in the sea," added the geologist.
"It has always been proven that gas exploration happens in three stages and that you will get a lot of gas in the first stage. Then this will stop and there will be a plateau. Bangladesh is only at this first stage," he said.
The second stage is where gas in the rocks must be explored, said Prof Imam. "Once that is exhausted, then you have to explore the deep sea, the offshore.
"When the companies could explore, when worldwide exploration was at the peak during 2015-16, we missed the train," he said.
Dr Anu Muhammad, former economics professor of Jahangirnagar University, commented that exploration has always been done to serve corporate interests instead of serving the needs of the country.
Our fuel exploration has been largely export-oriented to the provide for the needs of others, he said.
"During the 1980's, when Bangladesh discovered gas, international development banks had suggested that we export gas.
"Even coal exploration was export-oriented. Coal exploration lobbyists are now active. They say that coal exploration in Phulbari will develop the north -- but this definition of development does not take into account the loss of agricultural land, water and the internal migration it will cost," said Anu Muhammad.
Those who had suggested that gas be exported are now lobbying for coal mining, he opined.
He also criticised how energy production was governed by indemnity laws and that indemnity laws have wrecked the power plant sector.
"There is an indemnity law protecting those working at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project passed in 2015. There is no guarantee that there will not be an accident. Then why is there indemnity?"
BD Rahmatullah, former director general of the energy ministry's Power Cell, said the prospects of wind power were promising. No wind power developed here before due to lower wind speeds and older wind speed projections but now there exists improved turbine technology with higher hub heights and larger rotor diameters to take advantage of these lower wind speed sites, he said.
He referred to an exploratory study done in nine places across the country and said wind speeds of 5.75m to 7.75m per second could produce a total of 34,000MW power. The cost, he said, would be about Tk 9.82/kwh.
"The most megawatt [capacity] installed in any technology should be wind. Not liquid fuel, not coal, not nuclear," he said.
"Wind mill cost is continuously going down all over world. Turbine hub heights are getting higher to take advantage of stronger winds," said Rahmatullah.
Bangladesh not running out of gas, it hasn’t explored
Instead of exploring for gas, Bangladesh had taken the easy way out by importing gas, said experts at a discussion at the capital yesterday.
