Energy & Power

Snapshots

Fresh Move to Engage BAPEX More in Explorations

The Energy Ministry has taken a fresh initiative to extensively engage the state-owned BAPEX in oil and gas exploration activities to ease the country's looming gas scarcity in the years to come.

"We have already asked the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) to submit a detailed and time-bound work plan focusing more on future oil and gas exploration works," said a senior Energy Ministry official.

The Chief Advisor, who is also in-charge of the energy ministry, is very much interested to strengthen the BAPEX's working capacity, said the official.

He said the state-run oil and gas exploration company was also instructed to prepare the plan under three-pronged timeframe to expedite its implementation under short, middle and long-term targets.

The Energy Ministry's latest plan to strengthen BAPEX's working capacity came at a time when the country is reeling under a gas supply crunch caused from acute gas crisis across the country.

Currently the country's total gas production capacity is hovering around 1700 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) with a shortfall of around 100 mmcfd in demand.

According to Petrobangla statistics if new gas fields are not explored, the country's proven reserve of 8.39 TCF gas is set to exhaust by 2011.

If proven and probable reserves of around 14.4 TCF are taken together, the country's gas stock will be emptied by 2015, the report pointed out.

After 2015, the country will require new reserves to meet the growing demand.

Foreign Investors Urge Govt. to Make Quick Decisions

Foreign investors have urged the government to immediately decide on the pending big investment proposals from Tata and Asia Energy.

"The country should have a double digit economic growth, which cannot be achieved without smooth flow of foreign direct investment," Waliur Rahman Bhuiyan, President of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said at a monthly luncheon meeting.

He expressed frustration that the chamber has no representation in the Better Business Forum. "How the innovative forum could succeed when the lone body for foreign entrepreneurs is kept aloof from the purview of Better Business Forum,” he said.

Terming the existing investors as 'ambassadors to other potential investors', Bhuiyan said when they are not happy enough how could they invite others to invest in Bangladesh.

Board of Investment Executive Chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed assured the FICCI of considering its representation to the Better Business Forum. He also requested the FICCI members to submit their grievances to the BOI in written.

UAE-Bangladesh Investment Company Limited (UBICL) Managing Director SM Akber stressed the need for an equity protection law. He said, "Without an equity protection law foreign investors will not feel encouraged to invest in government or private equity."

Other members alleged about long procedural delay in opening up a branch or liaison office in Bangladesh.

It takes around a year or more than a year to get approval from many government desks for doing this simple job, they said.

Chevron Distributes Scholarships at Srimangal

Steve Wilson, President of Chevron Bangladesh distributed scholarships to students from four schools of Srimangal upazila near the Moulavibazar gas field recently in a low-key ceremony.

Under the ongoing annual Education Support Program, which was launched in 2005, some 120 students, selected on the basis of both financial need and merit, received scholarships this year. Chevron awarded each student Tk 6,000 with an aim to promote education for the underprivileged.

During the program, Wilson reiterated the need for aligning all Chevron initiatives under the umbrella of partnerships. "Our aim is to lend momentum to the community's stride towards a sustainable future, and promoting education is an important element in that matrix. Opportunities for employment are made possible only through proper education," said Wilson

Also present during the ceremony were teachers, parents, community leaders, local government officials, and other Chevron Bangladesh officials.

Policy & Strategic Plans Essential for Implementation

Stake holders at an opinion sharing meeting said that policy and strategic action plans are essential to implement renewable energy projects in the country.

They recommended a countrywide comprehensive survey to assess the potential of bio-diesel, wind energy before trying to kick-off any big project in this sector due to land constraint. Speakers also suggested going for comprehensive training to add fresh manpower to this sector and incorporate BUET as a facilitator to examine the pros and corns of the future of renewable energy.

To evaluate the present status of renewable energy in Bangladesh and to find out the constraints the meeting suggested that recommendation be sent to the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC).

LPEP-Bangladesh organized the opinion sharing meeting. Stake holders and donor agencies like GTZ, IDCOL were present at the meeting presided over by Prof. Dr. Md. Ali Asgar. The meeting was attended by Dr. M. Eusuf, Engr. Quamrul Islam Siddique, Dr. Engr. Khursheed-ul-Islam of GTZ, Dr. M. S. Islam of, Grameen Shakti, Dr. Abdur Rashid Sarkerer of BUET, Dr. Fakrul Islam of IDCOL, Dr. Hassan Rashid Khan, Ex-Director, BCSIR, Md. Tazmilur Rahman of KFW, Sundar Bajgain of SNV and Ashrafuzzaman of IDCOL.

Cable Fault Caused Blackout at ZIA

Fault in one of the age-old underground high-voltage cables caused the recent two-hour blackout at Zia International Airport (ZIA), found two probe committees.

Following the power outage, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism formed the committees to probe the incident that shut down all operations of the country's leading international airport.

Both the committees submitted their reports to the Secretary of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, within the stipulated timeframe.

"The supply line of DESCO (Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd) tripped as earthing (grounding) was created at the water plant point of ZIA due to the fault of a high-voltage cable," said the probe committee sources.

Gas Crisis won't Go until 2009: Tamim

The country's overall gas crisis will last at least until 2009 as demand is outpacing supply by a good margin amid a depleting reserve, said Prof M Tamim, the Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor for the Energy Ministry.

"Beyond 2009 the crisis might be eased provided that the country move fast with new explorations or import gas," he said.

Tamim's comments came as a major repair of gas transmission line dried up gas supply to millions of households and factories in and around the eastern part of the capital Dhaka for 27 hours recently.

The special aide said it has become impossible to meet the growing gas demand as energy consumption is rising fast in the country, while new exploration has almost come to a halt.

"We are trying our best to narrow the supply shortfall and putting a lot of effort ion new discovery. But the reality is that demand is outpacing supply by a good margin," Tamim said.

As Bangladesh and Myanmar have had several rounds of talks on import of gas through pipeline from the military-ruled country in exchange for fertilizer produced here, Tamim said: I see the initiative positively. We need Myanmar gas to feed our growing demand.

He said connecting Bangladesh's gas pipeline network with any country, be it regional or international, is necessary to ensure the country's future energy security.

Risky Well-3 of Titas Finally Turned Off

The risky well no 3 of Titas Gas field has finally been turned off to save all nearby wells from a possible disaster.
Jahangir Kabir, Managing Director of Bangladesh Gas Field Company Limited (BGFCL), said this at a press conference at the Birashar BGFCL office.

The well had been showing abnormal symptoms for long. Local engineers had tried to kill it, but its pressure doubled and was increasing further. As a result, wells no 6, 8, 9, 10, and an oil refinery institution were in the face of a possible blowout.

The authorities on December 26 last year tasked M/s Boots & Coots, a US-based international blowout expert company, with the well's termination process. The company has successfully done its job and now the finishing work is on, Jahangir said.

Iftekhar Receives Reports on Maritime Boundary Talks with Myanmar

Foreign Affairs Advisor Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury received a report from the delegation that visited Myanmar recently and discussed with relevant authorities "to lay the foundation of technical negotiations on maritime boundary.

Additional Foreign Secretary MAK Mahmood led the delegation. The other members of the delegation were Director Hydrography of the Bangladesh Navy Captain Mir Imdadul Haque and Director of UNCLOS at the Foreign Office M Nazrul Islam.

The Foreign Adviser raised the subject of maritime boundary demarcation with Myanmar for the first time in 21 years when he visited the country in April 2007. Thereafter, in order to organize the dialogue and lay the groundwork for technical negotiations, the delegation was sent to Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw.

Determining the maritime boundary is essential as Bangladesh is going for bidding for offshore oil-gas exploration shortly.

US Co. Seeks Revival of Gas Exploration Rights

Houston-based Ocean Energy has requested the government to allow it to explore gas in the block-22 after it lost exploration rights for the area two years ago.

The company made the request in a written letter to the Energy Ministry, saying that it has already spent $18 million in seismic survey in the block, covering the whole Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area.

"We have received the letter last week. The company has requested the energy ministry to return the block to them so that they can explore gas in the CHT," he said.

Ocean Energy won the rights to explore gas in the CHT, considered rich in energy and minerals, after it bought another US-based company, United Meridian Corporation (UMC), in 1998, a year after the UMC won the bidding for the Block-22.

But the company was stripped of the rights after failing to drill wells in a stipulated seven years contract time. The government took away the block in 2006, rejecting the company's plea for deal extension.

The US-company proposed that it would bear all the expenses for exploration activities if it got back the Block-22, according to the latest letter, addressed to the Chief Adviser's energy aide M Tamim.