Semutang ready for gas supply from today

Pankaj Dastider CHITTAGONG, Nov 21: Re-rolling industries, captive power plants, CNG filling stations and other businesses in Chittagong are likely to get more gas from tomorrow as the Semutang gas is fully ready for consumption. Karnafuli Gas Distribution Company officials said they are now fully ready to supply gas from Semutang as the hydro-pumping test of the gas pipe line from Semutang field has been found successful. According to the estimates 20 million cubic feet gas (mmcft) will be available everyday from the Semutang well which will feed the industries in Chittagong through the national grid as per decision made by Petrobangla. Till the second week of October last Chittagong region industries used to receive 220 million cubic feet (mmcft) gas from the national grid but they are receiving less than 190 mmcft gas from the third week of October against the demand of 380 mmcft. Meanwhile, KGDC has requested Petrobangla to suspend gas supply to major state-owned fertilizer factories such as KAFCO and CUFL and redirect the gas to Chittagong industries to keep up their production as these industries are facing tremendous gas crisis due to staggering for the last one month. Regarding gas supply from Semutang, MD of KGDC Engineer Sanwar Hossain told the FE today that hydro-pumping test has been found 100 per cent successful and their test completed at 2.15 pm today. "Now we are fully ready to supply gas from Semutang well and I am just waiting for the authority concerned in Dhaka," he said. Engineer Sanwar said he is expecting to supply Semutang gas to the local entrepreneurs from November 22 as per earlier schedule. The KGDC Managing Director also urged the authority to redirect gas supply to the local industries from the two state-owned fertilizer factories as the local re-rolling mills and captive power plants face severe gas crisis for the last one month. In a letter to the Director (Operation and Mines) of Petrobangla Mollah Mobirul Hossain on November 20 he stated that "some factories are of fulltime operation type" and they don't have facilities to control gas consumption created due to holiday staggering. "The Chittagong industries have sought to get rid of this stalemate as they have stated that many of them will go bankrupt if the gas staggering continues as huge amount of money has been invested in these projects," Mr Sanwar said.