Energy & Power

Snapshots

Akhtar Goes Finally

Power Division Secretary ANH Akhtar Hossain finally landed three notches down to Deputy Secretary on January 14 after he was elevated to the prestigious post under the presidential quota during the immediate past BNP-led government's rule. Akhtar has been transferred back to his original position of Additional Chief Engineer at the Water Development Board, a position of the status of a Deputy Secretary.

This was the first transfer after the new Advisor for Energy and Power, Tapan Chowdhury, took charge.

Besides being made secretary under the presidential quota, Akhtar was given double-promotion twice despite having the rank of a deputy secretary.

The Iajuddin Ahmed-led caretaker government had transferred him on October 30 as the Secretary to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the Ministry of Planning. But surprisingly he was transferred back to the Power Division the following day.

Boro Farming Likely to be Hampered in Northern Districts

Boro cultivation is likely to be hampered in 16 northern districts due to disruption of supply in fuel and fertilizer as water level marked abnormal fall in the 25-kilometre river route stretching from Baghabari to Kazirhat in Pabna.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) official Emdadul Haque said many cargo remained stranded at Mohangong, Phecakola and Shafulla shoal along Bagabari-Kazirhat river route. Besides, most tankers carry fuels half their capacity because of poor water level, he said. He said the dredging will not start before February.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), however, is going to set up a temporary fuel distribution point in Kazirhat area to ensure supply of fuel to 16 northern districts in view of current Boro cultivation season.

Crop production specialist (CPS) Mohammad Dalil Uddin of the Department of Agriculture (DAE), Bogra, said Boro production is likely to be hampered seriously if fertilizer cannot be applied within the next 15 days. Moreover, farmers could not apply urea in Boro fields in many areas in the northern region. Urea is a must within 35 days of plantation to ensure satisfactory production, he said.

Titas Gas Earns Tk 304.21 Crore Profit

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL) made net profit before tax of Tk 304.21 crore and declared dividend
of Tk 75.04 crore in the year 2005-06.

It was announced in the annual general meeting of the financial year of the company held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Dhaka recently. The Directors and the shareholders of the company attended the meeting. Energy Division Secretary and Titas Board Chairman, AMM Nasir Uddin, presided over the AGM.

A release of the TGTDCL said the company earned revenue of Tk 3,408 crore selling 10,164.52 million cubic meters of gas in the year 2005-06. The company achieved 13.93 per cent growth in this area. It said the Titas set up 620.86 kilometers of pipelines and provided 68,443 new connections in the year 2005-06.

Bhel Poised to Bag 200 MW Power Plant Contract

Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) is poised to bag an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract involving about Rs 400 crore for building a 200-megawatt (mw) gas-based power plant at Siddhirganj in Bangladesh, according to an Indian newspaper.

The contract will be awarded by Electricity Generation Company Bangladesh (EGCB), which is a wing of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). The wing was created specifically to implement, own and operate a 300mw power plant at Siddhirganj.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) is financing the project.

"The project had been hanging in the balance for nearly three years. But Bhel has just been awarded the letter of intent (LoI). We are awaiting the final contract, following which the project work will be commissioned. The project has, in fact, been awarded to Bhel at the insistence of ADB," the Economic Times, India reported quoting a senior Bhel official as saying.

Under the project an open cycle plant with two units of 100 MW capacity each will be set up. It is slated for completion within 17 months which will be fixed after Bhel is awarded the contract, the official said.

Rising Demand for Imported Oil Pushing up BPC Losses

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is incurring losses increasingly because of the rising demand for imported fuel oil, which is impacting on the foreign currency reserve of the country.

Despite promoting the use of alternative fuel for lessening the dependence on oil import, no impact of it is being noticed on the volume of import. Some blamed large-scale trafficking in fuel oil for this.

According to BPC sources, agriculture, irrigation, power generation and transports are still completely dependent on imported fuel oil. Besides, over three thousand small and medium scale industries run on furnace oil. For meeting their needs, BPC imports a huge quantity of fuel oil annually.

According to statistics, consumption of fuel oil procured through BPC is increasing almost every year. A decade ago in 1995-96 fiscal year, import of fuel oil of different categories stood at 146,600 tons and its price was Tk 1,125 crore. After nearly 10 years, the volume of import of the product now stands at 390,000 tons. It causes an additional loss to the BPC, which is increasing day by day.

ADB Promoting Clean Energy in Bangladesh

ADB has assisted Bangladesh in developing major gas fields -- Titas, Habiganj and Bakhrabad, major transmission systems, and most of the distribution networks across the eastern part of the country through over $676 million in loans, and $5 million in technical assistance grants since 1975.

Under the Gas Transmission and Development Project (GTDP) approved by ADB in 2006, four gas transmission pipelines will be constructed totaling 353 kilometers to transport about 360 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to the less developed western region of the country, covering an area with a population of nearly 15 million.

"Through this project, the gas network will, for the first time in history, reach the country’s less-developed South-western regions including Khulna and Rajshahi, to help improve the livelihood of the people and promote economic development in those regions," says Hua Du, Country Director for ADB's Resident Mission in Bangladesh.

To remove supply bottlenecks throughout the network, GTDP will expand the country's north-south system by introducing gas compressor technology for the first time in Bangladesh, she added. "By supporting the use of the much cleaner natural gas as a fuel for power generation, industry and transport, as well as for household use, the project will also contribute to improving air quality in urban centers and in households."

About 320 km of gas distribution pipelines will also be constructed to create a new distribution network in the Rajshahi area in western Bangladesh. In addition, the project will conduct a 3D seismic survey of five operational gas fields to provide updates on the estimated gas reserves in place and to assist further extension.

Studies show that Bangladesh has adequate gas reserves to meet its requirements. The country's gas infrastructure, however, is in poor condition due to a lack of commercial orientation and inadequate funding for maintenance and expansion. Low utilization of natural gas is serving as a constraint to commercial, industrial, and rural development.

Based on an ADB-financed study, Petrobangla, the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Minerals Corporation, has formulated an investment plan for the period 2002-2020 that envisages $3 billion in investments for the gas sector to meet the country's increasing gas requirements. In support of this, the Government has developed a gas sector reform road map with ADB assistance.

BPC Wants 20-Km Rail Track to Ensure Oil Supply to North

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division has requested the Bangladesh Railway to install a 20-km railway track from Ullapara to Baghabari in Sirajganj for carrying fuel oils by wagon as navigability dropped in river route.

The proposed railway track would enable Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to avoid river route and transport fuel oils to Baghabari by wagons from Daultapur depot in Khulna via Pakshi Railway Bridge or from Chittagong via Jamuna Bridge, energy officials said.

Oil transportation via river route from Godnail and Fatullah depots in Narayanganj becomes difficult in winter as water level falls, reducing navigability of the river Jamuna. Many oil tankers get stuck in the shoals of Jamuna throughout the river route between depots in Narayanganj and Sirajganj.

Northern districts face diesel supply crisis in the Boro cultivation season starting from early winter almost every year, as the BPC fails to transport adequate fuel oils through river route to Baghabari oil depot.

The state-run oil monopoly has five other oil depots and distribution centres in Rangpur, Parbatipur, Rajshahi, Harian and Natore, where fuel is being transported by railway. But the storage capacity of the five depots is about one-tenth of Baghabari depot, which alone can store around 33,000 tons of diesel. Demand for diesel hovers around 2,200-2,300 tons per day in 16 northern districts.

Fuel oil supply crisis turned worse in January 2006 and officials fear a rerun of the crisis in January next as Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority did not pay heed to repeated requests for adequate dredging in Jamuna.