The government would try to ensure uninterrupted supply of natural gas to consumers by year-end, riding on the domestic output and import of LNG, state minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) Nasrul Hamid said on Wednesday.
"We shall monitor the impact of LNG import in the domestic market for several months after initiating the supply of re-gasified LNG. Then we shall opt for supplying gas uninterrupted," he said.
Mr Hamid was addressing a press briefing at the Power and Energy Ministry's conference room unveiling the programmes marking the countrywide `National Energy Security Day` to be celebrated today (Thursday).
Supplying of re-gasified LNG (liquefied natural gas) will start this month after the energy security day, he added.
After three months' of rough weather, the FSRU is now being readied for commissioning, said Mr Hamid.
The minister made it clear that LNG import would push up the domestic gas prices.
But he hoped Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) might not increase the price substantially.
"The price will be rational and would be within the comfort zone of consumers," he said.
State-run Petrobangla and its subsidiary bodies chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day to commemorate the historic decision taken by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of taking over operations of five gas fields from Anglo-Dutch Shell Oil at a cost of 4.5 million pounds on August 09 in 1975.
They would also bring out rally, launch campaign through mobile phone SMS (short message service) for the economic use of energy and hold seminars on energy issues.
Responding to a query, he said the country's gas fields have already started getting depleted as per the forecast and within the next eight to nine years the country's entire gas reserve will be exhausted.
One or two gas fields have already been depleted and other ones are in the process of getting depleted, he said.
The country's gas fields will face depletion as there was no new discovery in recent years, he added.
Currently, the overall natural gas production is hovering around 2,750 million cubic feet gas per day (mmcfd) against the demand of 3,700 mmcfd.
The government has undertaken a programme to drill 108 wells at different locations to increase the country's overall natural gas output, he said.
So far drilling works for only eight were awarded to different contractors.
But the results are not positive as each of these wells produce only around 15-20 mmcfd of gas, which is not cost effective, he said.
Mr Hamid said the plan to drill the remaining100 wells are now being revisited as contractors are asking for $ 30 million per well, which is too high.
The junior minister was also critical of implementing the planned Dhaka-Chittagong oil carrying pipeline as, what he said, the global energy market scenario is changing fast and new dynamics are coming up with new ideas.
The country might see electric vehicles on the streets in significantly higher number in the coming years, which might reduce consumption of petroleum products in the transportation sector, he said.
