ADB's TA assistance for gas sector
Saturday, 1 September 2007
FE Report
Bangladesh will receive technical assistance (TA) worth US$575,000 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to prepare a development programme for the gas sector.
"The purpose of the TA is to help the Bangladesh government prepare a new gas sector development programme to build on the progress from the ongoing projects," said an ADB press release.
The total cost of the TA is estimated at $720,000 equivalent. The ADB will offer $575,000 that will be come as a grant from the Japan Special Fund of the government of Japan.
The government of Bangladesh (GoB) will bear the remaining $145,000 to meet the local currency costs through in-kind contributions such as office accommodation and facilities, counterpart staff, data and other information, said the press release.
The programme will include (i) a policy agenda, (ii) priority investments, and (iii) an institutional capacity development component for the gas sector. The GoB has proposed several investments for ADB financing under the forthcoming programme and these have been selected from the Gas Sector Master Plan sub-projects, the ADB said.
The ADB has been involved in the gas sector intermittently over the past 25 years, and provided eight loans totaling $446 million.
Petrobangla will execute the programme. The TA will be carried out over a five-month period by an internationally recognised consultancy firm in association with national consultants.
The TA will commence in September 2007 and will be completed by January 2008.
Although Bangladesh has been producing natural gas for over three decades, most of its major fields are underdeveloped and have not been properly delineated.
There are widely varying assessments of the country's potential natural gas resources. Total proven recoverable gas reserves in Bangladesh from 23 fields (18 in the public and five in the private sector) are estimated at 20.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF), of which 6.8 TCF has so far been consumed, the press release said.
It, however, said the current net recoverable reserves stand at 13.7 TCF.
Bangladesh will receive technical assistance (TA) worth US$575,000 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to prepare a development programme for the gas sector.
"The purpose of the TA is to help the Bangladesh government prepare a new gas sector development programme to build on the progress from the ongoing projects," said an ADB press release.
The total cost of the TA is estimated at $720,000 equivalent. The ADB will offer $575,000 that will be come as a grant from the Japan Special Fund of the government of Japan.
The government of Bangladesh (GoB) will bear the remaining $145,000 to meet the local currency costs through in-kind contributions such as office accommodation and facilities, counterpart staff, data and other information, said the press release.
The programme will include (i) a policy agenda, (ii) priority investments, and (iii) an institutional capacity development component for the gas sector. The GoB has proposed several investments for ADB financing under the forthcoming programme and these have been selected from the Gas Sector Master Plan sub-projects, the ADB said.
The ADB has been involved in the gas sector intermittently over the past 25 years, and provided eight loans totaling $446 million.
Petrobangla will execute the programme. The TA will be carried out over a five-month period by an internationally recognised consultancy firm in association with national consultants.
The TA will commence in September 2007 and will be completed by January 2008.
Although Bangladesh has been producing natural gas for over three decades, most of its major fields are underdeveloped and have not been properly delineated.
There are widely varying assessments of the country's potential natural gas resources. Total proven recoverable gas reserves in Bangladesh from 23 fields (18 in the public and five in the private sector) are estimated at 20.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF), of which 6.8 TCF has so far been consumed, the press release said.
It, however, said the current net recoverable reserves stand at 13.7 TCF.