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The Financial Express

Gas supply shortage hits Ctg city hard

| Updated: June 24, 2018 15:24:43


FE file photo used for representation FE file photo used for representation

The people of Chattogram have been facing severe gas crisis as its supply from Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd has reached the lowest level recently.

The region is now getting, on average, 100 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) against the demand for about 500 mmcfd.

KGDCL is not adequate gas supply from the national grid, company sources said.

Power generation and fertiliser production in the gas-fired plants remain fully suspended.

Commercial enterprises, gas filling stations and a large number of domestic gas consumers are also suffering a lot due to acute gas crisis in the city.

Officials at KGDCL said the gas transmission pipeline from Bakhrabad to Chattogram suffers from gas pressure.

The authority concerned is carrying out pigging work to remove stumbling blocks caused by carbon and other by-products to the 24-diameter of 175 kilometre pipeline.

Pigging work in the transmission line started after Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. It is likely to be completed by the middle of this week.

Deputy General Manager, sales (southern) of KGDCL Engineer Sarwar Hossain said gas supply from the national grid will become normal shortly. Gas supply was disrupted for pipeline clearing work, he added.

Sources at Petrobangla said KGDCL got 100.9 mmcfd of gas on June 21 and 96.4 mmcfd on June 19 from the national grid against average demand for 470 mmcfd to 500 mmcfd.

Production at two 210-megawatt units at Raozan Power Plant, 150-MW and 60-MW Shikalbaha Power Plant and 25-MW Barabkunda Power Plant remains suspended.

Production at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL) and Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (KAFCO) also remain suspended due to an acute shortage of gas supply, sources concerned said.

Local consumers in the city, home to over 0.575 million (5.75 lakh) people, are worst sufferers as gas crisis worsened over the last few days.

The officials said supply of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) will ease gas crisis in the Chattogram region. Imported LNG is likely to be available by July 04.

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