Bangladesh and fossil gas
Bangladesh has a population of 167.9 million as of 2022. [1] The GDP growth rate was 6.9% in 2021 and is forecasted at 7.2% in 2022 and 6.6% in 2023.[2] The country has seen steady GDP growth of 6-8% per year since 2010.[3] As a result, Bangladesh has experienced rapid energy growth with primary energy consumption rising faster than GDP.[3] Bangladesh's fast growing economy is shifting from agriculture to manufacturing and services, making energy security a main government concern.[4]
Gas shortages have occurred since 2015, due to stalled domestic production and rising demand, forcing the government to restrict gas supply to fertilizer production, businesses, households, and industrial units and instead giving priority to power plants. [5]
Fossil Gas in the Fuel Mix
In the fiscal year 2020-21, the total fossil gas consumption in Bangladesh was 1017.5 billion cubic feet (BCF), out of which, 425.8 BCF was consumed by the power sector, 169.1 BCF by the captive power sector, 181.7 by industry, and 134.2 BCF by the domestic sector. [6]
The total electric power installed capacity in the country is 22,066 MW. Fossil gas accounts for 51.35% of this capacity, followed by furnace oil (27.46%), coal (8.01%), diesel (5.85%), imported power (5.26%), renewable energy (1.04%), and hydropower (1.04%).[6] Total net power generation in 2020-21 was 42,395 MkWh, out of which 66.44% was produced by fossil gas. [6]
In 2016, the Government of Bangladesh released a Power System Master Plan (PSMP 2016) with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The plan included several power stations to be fueled by imported LNG and coal. Interestingly, JICA had also committed to funding Matarbari 1 and 2 coal power stations and several Japanese companies have expressed interest in providing coal and LNG power technologies for projects in Bangladesh.[7]
In the fall of 2020, the government indicated that they will revise their Power System Master Plan to increase the share of gas and imported LNG and reduce the use of coal.[8]
In December 2020, the Bangladesh government released the 8th Five Year Plan (FYP) 2020-2025, which showed an increased interest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the power system's financial sustainability. It also acknowledged several key issues affecting the country's fossil fuel-based power system, including the issues of overcapacity and the rising capacity payments and promised that “the Power Sector Master Plan 2016 (PSMP) will be updated and power expansion programmes will be based on updated demand projections, better use of existing capacity and selection of least-cost options for new generation."[9]
The new Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) is currently under development by a Tokyo based consulting firm '3E+S' and is expected to be ready by November 2022. [10]
As per the recent NDCs, Bangladesh has committed to GHG emissions reductions of 7.56 Mt CO₂e (6.73%) below business-as-usual (BAU) by 2030 unconditionally, and a reduction of 61.9 Mt CO₂e (15.12%) below BAU by 2030 with conditions. The total estimated costs of the mitigation actions are 176 billion US$ over ten years (2021-2030)[11]
Fossil Gas Production, Imports, and Transportation
To date, 28 gas fields have been discovered in Bangladesh. According to Petrobangla, total initial gas in place (GIIP) is 39.90 trillion cubic feet (TCF), out of which 28.42 TCF is recoverable in proven and probable categories. From 1960 to December 2021, total 19.11 TCF gas was produced leaving 9.30 TCF recoverable.[6]
As of 2020, all current producing gas fields had reached their production plateau, and considering the consumption rate, it was estimated that the reserves could be depleted by 2039 or earlier.[5]
To meet the domestic gas demand, in 2018, Bangladesh started importing LNG under long-term deals from Qatar's RasGas as well as Oman's Oman Trading International.[12] In fiscal year 2020-21, total gas production was 889 BCF while R-LNG supply was 215.1 BCF, making the total gas supply 1,104.1 BCF.
In late 2020, Bangladesh cancelled a tender to import LNG from the spot market for November because spot prices were too high. In September 2020, in an effort to diversify LNG sourcing beyond long-term contracts and take advantage of low prices, Bangladesh began LNG imports from the spot market.[13]
An IEEFA report released in January 2021 indicates that increased LNG price volatility will place 42 GW of proposed LNG power projects in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Pakistan at risk.[14]
As of June 2022, Bangladesh has 3,315.74 km of gas transmission pipelines and 2,408.96 km of distribution pipelines. [15]
The country has two floating storage and re-gasification units (FSRU) having storage capacity of 1,38,000 cubic meter LNG each and re-gasification capacity of daily 500 million cubic feet each are operating in the country. The first LNG terminal installed by Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Ltd. (EEBL) was commissioned in August 2018. The second FSRU, with similar capacity, installed by Summit LNG Terminal Co. Ltd., was commissioned in April 2019. Both the FSRUs are in the Bay of Bengal near Moheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar. The government also has a plan to construct a land based LNG terminal with a re-gasification capacity of 1,000 million cubic feet daily at Matarbari, Cox’s bazar.[6]
As of 2022, there are no pipelines that import gas into Bangladesh.
Government Agencies and other Key Players in Gas Sector
Petrobangla is the state-owned oil, gas, and mineral resources company.[16]
Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) is a government owned company responsible for transmission of gas all over Bangladesh. It works under the supervision of Petrobangla.[16]
The following companies work under Petrobangla for the distribution of gas in the country. [16]
- Titas Gas Transmission & Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL)
- Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (BGDCL)
- Jalalabad Gas Transmission & Distribution System Limited (JGTDSL)
- Pashchimanchal Gas Company LImited (PGCL)
- Karnaphuli Gas Distriburion Company Limited (KGDCL)
- Sundarban Gas Company Limited (SGCL)
References
- ↑ "World Population Dashboard". UNFPA.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Bangladesh: By the Numbers | ADB Data Library | Asian Development Bank". data.adb.org. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Transforming the power sector in developing countries: Geopolitics, poverty, and climate change in Bangladesh". Atlantic Council. 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ↑ Moxon, Joachim. "Gas-starved Bangladesh, one of the fastest growing LNG markets in Asia". ICIS Explore. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Emerging Asia LNG Demand". Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Power and Energy" (PDF). Bangladesh Economic Review 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Bangladesh Must Plan for the Energy Transition to Renewables" (PDF). IEEFA.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Bangladesh may ditch 90% of its planned coal power". China Dialogue. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ↑ "8th Five Year Plan 2020-2025" (PDF). Bangladesh Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Prothom Alo English Desk. "Integrated energy-power sector master plan likely to be ready by Nov". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ↑ "Nationally Determined Contributions- Bangladesh" (PDF). UNFCCC. 26 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Bangladesh overcomes pipeline hurdles to boost LNG re-gasification capacity | S&P Global Platts". www.spglobal.com. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ↑ "Diesel faces up to the challenges of 2021 | S&P Global Platts". www.spglobal.com. 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- ↑ Robertson, Bruce. "Gas and LNG Price Volatility to Increase in 2021" (PDF). Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Gas Pipeline". Petrobangla. October 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Gas Transmission & Distribution Area/Network". Petrobangla.
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