Ongoing gas crisis in the country will ease by March, says Nasrul Hamid as he pins his hopes on increased regasification and new domestic output of the fuel.
The State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, came up with the assurance Tuesday after the renewal of his job in the new cabinet.
He mentioned that from March both the floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) would be operational for processing imported gas.
Currently, one FSRU is out of operation due to maintenance but is set to initiate operation within next couple of days, he told reporters.
Another FSRU will go for operation within next several days, which is set to resume operation by March, he said while elaborating on gas-augmenting plans.
Mr Hamid was talking to journalists on the country's power-and-energy sector's progress, potential and obstacles-with consumer complaints of low pressure or gas outages in the backdrop.
Every year in winter gas crisis surfaces due to the accumulation of water in the pipeline, and demand for gas also increases as temperatures drop.
"After achieving the milestone of cent-percent electricity coverage, the government's focus is now on providing uninterrupted power and gas supplies," said Mr Hamid.
He hopes uninterrupted gas supply to consumers could be possible by 2026 when more term liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers will initiate supplying the liquid gas.
New oil-and-gas exploration in offshore blocks might augment the country's overall natural gas reserves after several years, he says.
He also appeared upbeat about increased domestic gas as most of the recently drilled wells have discovered gas.
Mr Hamid stresses setting up Bhola-to-Barishal gas pipeline for transmission of the stranded fuel, and says construction works might commence this year.
The blocked gas from Bhola island is currently supplied in CNG form, which is expected to increase and be fully operational by mid-March next year, he said.
Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field also holds promise, he told the media, adding that around 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas could be found in newly drilled wells.
The government has planned to drill some 46 new wells by 2025 and 100 more thereafter.
He expects that around 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas could come from domestic sources by 2025.
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