Gas Crisis Hits Parts of Dhaka

The disturbance triggered by bad weather in the supply of gas at the Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in Moheshkali has contributed to a major gas shortage in the city over the last week.

People in certain parts of the city reported that the availability of gas in their areas was so poor that they found it difficult to cook food throughout the day.

"The dilemma starts after 8:00 a.m. and persists during the day. In reality, by midday, we don't have any petrol. Things tend to change after 9:00 p.m. My wife prepares food for my children late at night," said Sirajul Haque Khan, a resident of Mirhajirbagh.

Officials said the problem is caused by the low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal.

Md Kamruzzaman, Director (Operation and Mines) of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, said that due to bad weather, the wave level was above three meters, which stopped the import of LNG from ships anchored on the shore.

"It happened between August 12 and 13," he told media.

"We get nearly 600 million CFT LNG daily. After the disruption, we had to adjust. Now we're getting about 560 million CFT daily," he said, adding that the situation would continue to prevail for five or six more days.

According to the Met Office, the low pressure in the Bay is now in Urisya and Gangani, West Bengal, and the weather at sea is very harsh.

Aftab Uddin, a meteorologist from the meteorological department, said that this condition could persist for the next two days and requested all seaports to persist to hoist their local warning signal number-3.

Explaining the situation, Rana Akbar Hyderi, director of operations of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, said that ships carrying LNG were struck by high waves, causing officials to interrupt gas deliveries via pipelines.

"Had they not stopped the supply, it could have caused a blast," he said.

He added that they normally import 1,800 million cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas per day from Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) and around 500 to 570 million cubic feet (mmcfd) per day from LNG.

Yet they're receiving 70 mmcfd fewer gas supply from them now because of the harsh environment, he said.

Rana Akbar said that they were now providing more than 300 mmcfd of gas per day to Dhaka Town, against the demand of about 450 mmcfd of gas.

He said that first preference was provided to power and fertilizer firms, and then they supplied gas to other industrial zones and domestic uses in Dhaka.

Seeking anonymity, an official of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited, which looks after LNG import and supply, said the LNG transfer was delayed on three dates on August 12, 17, and 18.

"It's a common phenomenon during monsoon," he added.

The government has been purchasing LNG from Qatar on a government-to-government basis since 2018 and it now gets around 600 mmcfd gas per day.