Energy experts underscored the necessity for expediting the oil-and-gas exploration to ensure the country's energy security, as a minister's projection on the natural fuel provoked thought among them.
They said country's future energy security would be badly dented if the authorities failed to find new gas reserves soon by using all means at command.
In their reaction, the experts also brushed aside the projection on the natural gas availability until 2031. State minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid gave such an account of the natural wealth in the national parliament Sunday.
Mr Hamid stated that the country's current recoverable natural gas reserves of 14.16 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) are set to be exhausted by 2031 if the current rate of production continued.
"The minister had assumed that the country's current natural gas production of around 2,600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) would continue for the next 16 years, which is absurd," said Professor Dr Nurul Islam of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET).
Besides, Mr Hamid did not take into cognizance the annual growth in natural gas, which is increasing by around 10 per cent every year.
The BUET professor suggested strengthening the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex) and giving it more responsibility of drilling more wells.
Mr Islam is the architect of Bangladesh's first-ever gas-development fund devoted to carrying out oil-and-gas exploration by state-owned companies.
"Bapex might have limitations in exploration. But these limitations must have to be removed to keep it active," he said about the imperative for capacity building of the domestic companies in the important field.
Importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet a mounting natural gas demand would be an expensive remedy for energy crunch, said Prof Islam.
Former special assistant to Chief Adviser Dr M Tamim suggested converting the country's gas-fired power plants to coal-fired ones and keeping natural gas for use in industries and in manufacturing sector.
"The government should immediately chalk out a plan to initiate the use of coal in power plants instead of natural gas," said Mr Tamim, also a professor of BUET.
He feels that the government should open up onshore blocks for exploration by international oil companies (IOCs) like the offshore blocks, to expedite exploration.
Dr Tamim also opined that Bapex should be modernised by appointing qualified people to top management and recruiting efficient people to carry out exploration activities.
"The country is now in a vulnerable position in terms of energy security," said Prof Badrul Imam of Geology Department of Dhaka University.
He deplored that the government could not yet come up with a pragmatic solution to ensure country's future energy security.
"The state minister did not either project properly the country's actual demand-supply position as he miscalculated production trends and did not calculate demand growth," the DU professor added.
Mr Hamid had stated in parliament that country's total reserve of natural gas was 27.12Tcf. Of the total, 12.96Tcf had been used until June.
The country has a total of 26 discovered gas fields and gas is being extracted from 20 of those.
Mr Hamid said it was not possible to supply natural gas according to the demand.
"The demand will increase in future. So it will not be possible to keep the production rate unchanged, if the reserve drops," he said.
mazizur.rahman@outlook.com
