Government is losing Tk3.39 while selling per cubic meter of gas: Nasrul Hamid

The government is losing Tk3.39 while selling per cubic meter of gas, says State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resource Nasrul Hamid.

Considering this expenditure as an obstacle for balanced development, he said: "The purchase price of domestic gas mixed with imported LNG is Tk 24.80 per cubic meter and the average selling price is Tk21.41 per cubic meter."

He said this while addressing a seminar titled: “Gas Demand-Supply Scenario; Scope of Seismic Survey and Enhancement of Drilling Activities to Expedite Hydrocarbon Production” organised by Petrobangla at its auditorium in the city on Thursday (February 15, 2024).

He said the country has many inefficient captive power plants which efficiency is 20 percent when some new power plants installed with 62 percent efficiency.

“If we can divert gas to those efficient new power plants, power production cost will come down by 70 percent,” he noted.

Nasrul Hamid said the Petrobangla planned to drill 48 wells to produce 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) while the country’s demand will go up by 2000 mmcfd.

“We’re all looking at Petrobangla to see effective results of its plan…, there is huge prospects in the gas sector,” he added.

In the presentation the Petrobangla officials showed that it has planned to drill 100 wells across the country from which 1500 mmcfd gas will be produced by 2027 when gas demand will go up to 6000 mmcfd.

The seminar, with Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker in the chair, was also addressed by Energy Secretary Md Nurul Alam.

Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company's Managing Director Anwarul Islam and Petrobangla's General Manager Meherul Hasan made presentations on the topic of the seminar.