Gas crisis: Is LPG the solution?

Every year gas supplies to households countrywide usually hit a snag during the winter. But this year, the crisis turned acute and affected even filling stations for CNG-run vehicles. The State Minister for Power and Energy on January 27, 2016 said that the problems at households would be solved "within two or three days; the problem in Bakhrabad gas pipeline is being fixed". He, however, said such problems would not arise in the country in future if the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was increased. There had already been a demand-supply gap of gas in the country. The total gas production currently stands at 2,700 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against a known demand for 3,250 mmcfd.
But this has little to do with the existing and ongoing crisis in Dhaka city, claim the authorities of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, which is responsible for supplying gas to the capital city. Rather they blame the crisis on a "seasonal rise" in the demand. For the capital, they supply 1,800 mmcfd to 1,900 mmcfd gas which, they claim, is enough to meet the regular demand. But during the winter, gas consumption increases by 10 per cent. The cited shortage and demand hike apart, allegations are ripe about pilferage of gas with the connivance of a section of corrupt people in the supply chain countrywide, down to the meter-readers.
The state minister spoke at a seminar arranged jointly by Dhaka University's Institute of Renewable Energy and Bangladesh Solar Energy Society, where brainstorming was supposed to be on the inexhaustible substitutes for gas amid the outcry over the crisis. These appear to be noble initiatives. Much time, energy and money have gone for experiments. But what is the outcome? Any help in this crisis? Answer is better understood by those who are concerned.
Use of LPG for households and piped gas for industries is hinted at as a remedy for the accentuated gas crisis. That is a solution not bad for many uses, especially when petroleum products are dirt cheap on the global market. "Oil is cheaper than water now"-- has become an adage out of the oil woes of the oil-rich nations, particularly in the Middle Eastern world.
But the riddles surrounding the sudden countrywide gas crunch for cooking and other domestic uses remain unresolved. Many analysts pointed at a subtle ploy, involving both energy authorities and LPG lobbies. A number of LPG companies have sprung up to grab a lucrative business, as many parts of the country are left out of the natural gas grid where cooking is mostly done with LPG in urban and semi-urban areas. Price is still high, though government high-ups claim to have cut the rates. The consumers say, it costs around Tk 1,500 to refill a cylinder. One cylinder can support only a small family for a month. Extended ones would need two even in frugal, tight-fisted use.
On the contrary, domestic users have to pay between Tk 600 (single burner) and 650 (double burner) per month to use the gas supplied through pipelines. How much the cost escalation comes to in the proposed switch? How much the incomes of citizens have increased, except the privileged ones getting their pay from public pocket?
What LPG is and what its uses are may deserve a resume here for a clear clue to what else could be done, in order that the rather honest wishes of those in authority are not perceived in the wrong way round.
LPG is produced during oil refining or is extracted during the natural gas production process. This fuel is important for use in industrial, commercial, agricultural and manufacturing applications. Apart from its uses for cooking, LPG is also a fuel for cars. Then why not go for its massive introduction for industrial and business uses and for fuelling cars? Energy experts and consumer rights activists suggest not the limited natural gas but LPG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the viable option for running industries and driving cars.
Government plan for building LNG import terminals and more refineries will take time to become a reality. Some crash courses may be taken for import of petroleum through the private companies for conversion in their plants under strict government control for feeding industries and gas stations for transport.
The government is reportedly working on a plan to meet 70 per cent of the domestic demand with LPG within the next three years. The relevant minister when asked whether an 'artificial crisis' was created to force domestic users to go for LPG, replied, "Apart from one or two cities, LPG is used everywhere. How are they managing?" In fact, they are managing by paying through their nose. The gas found in Bangladesh so far and yet to be found in onshore and potential offshore areas is a national wealth. It is for common people's well-being, so they cannot be deprived to serve corporate interests alone. Majority of the experts has been pleading for long to readjust fuel prices in keeping with the global petroleum slump, but the government is yet to pay heed to it.  
Experts suggest accelerated efforts for importing cheap petroleum products for the current use and storing of those and their derivatives for future usages as one of the priority tasks in energy security. Illegal connections are a huge drain on gas supply. Cut it all, and control waste in household use. Users must also be careful in pipeline gas uses. Metered domestic gas supply at low cost may also serve to overcome the crisis.
The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General
Education Cadre.
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