Category: Energy and Power

The government will monitor global energy prices for three months before deciding on any revision of domestic fuel prices, as rising international costs put growing pressure on energy subsidies.

The Finance Ministry has instructed the Energy and Mineral Resources Division to prepare a price adjustment proposal after the observation period.

A six-member committee, headed by Additional Secretary Md Hasanul Matin, has been formed to assess global price trends, subsidy requirements and outstanding payments to independent power producers (IPPs).

The move comes amid a sharp increase in subsidy requirements, particularly for LNG.

Against an initial Tk6,000 crore allocation for LNG subsidies in the current fi scal year, the government has already provided around Tk7,000 crore, including outstanding payments.

Severe fl ooding in Nepal’s Bhotekoshi river system has effectively halted electricity exports to Bangladesh, with Nepal’s overall power exports falling sharply after several hydropower plants were damaged.

Nepal normally exports around 1,000MW during the wet season, but exports have dropped to about 650MW following the August 26 fl oods.

The 22.1MW Chilime and 24MW Trishuli hydropower projects, which supply electricity to Bangladesh through India, have been damaged and remain offl ine.

The Nepal Electricity Authority said it has asked India to allow electricity from alternative projects to be supplied to Bangladesh.

It is also working to restore damaged generation and transmission infrastructure.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on September 9 gave in-principle approval to a proposal for implementing a Waste-toEnergy power generation project in the Chattogram City Corporation area on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis.

The approvals were given at the CCEA meeting held at the Cabinet Division in the city with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.

The proposal was submitted by the Local Government Division.

Chattogram, the country’s second-largest city and a major commercial and industrial hub, generates a substantial volume of municipal solid waste every day

Novatek Middle East has proposed a $950 million gravity-based structure (GBS) LNG terminal in the Bay of Bengal as an alternative to Bangladesh’s planned land-based facility at Matarbari.

The company presented the preliminary concept to Petrobangla, proposing a fi xed offshore terminal with 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of regasifi cation capacity.

Novatek estimates the facility would cost about 21% less than a conventional 7.5MTPA land-based terminal, estimated at $1.2 billion.

The fi gures, however, have not been independently verifi ed.

The proposed GBS could be built in 30-36 months and have a design life of 60-80 years.

Possible sites include deep-sea areas near Maheshkhali and Matarbari.

The facility would send regasifi ed LNG to the national grid through a subsea pipeline.

The proposal is still at an early stage, and Novatek has not submitted a formal proposal.

The Bangladesh government has formed a 25-member National Committee on Climate Finance (NCCF) to bring climate fi nance, carbon credits and carbon trading activities under a coordinated national framework.

Under a notifi cation issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on September 1, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will chair the committee, while Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo will serve as vice-chair.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Md Saimum Parvez has been appointed coordinator, while the ministry secretary will serve as member-secretary.

The committee includes State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Health Dr SM Ziauddin Haider, and Adviser Mahdi Amin, who oversees education, primary and mass education, expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, and labour and employment.

The government has intensifi ed efforts to boost domestic gas production through drilling and workover of 150 wells, seismic surveys and strengthening of the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX), Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood told Parliament recently.

The minister said drilling of 30 wells has already been completed, adding around 100 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to the national grid.

Another 85 MMCFD is expected from seven wells currently under drilling.

The government plans to conduct 4,500 line kilometers of 2D and 4,200 square kilometers of 3D seismic surveys, while two new drilling rigs are being procured to strengthen BAPEX.

Proposals to reopen closed gas wells are also being examined, he said.

On LNG, the government has approved a proposal by China’s National Energy Engineering and Construction Co Ltd (CNEE) to install an FSRU at Kutubjom in Maheshkhali.

A prolonged shortage of piped gas in parts of Dhaka has triggered a sharp rise in demand for electric cooking appliances as households seek alternatives to unreliable gas supplies.

The crisis began on July 22 after disruptions involving fl oating storage and regasifi cation units (FSRUs) cut liquefi ed natural gas supplies to the national grid by around 450 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD), or nearly 17 percent.

Although supplies have improved in some areas, daytime gas pressure remains inadequate in many households.

The disruption has boosted sales of infrared and rice cookers in particular.

Industry players estimate Bangladesh’s annual electric cooker market at less than Tk200 crore.

RFL Chief Marketing Offi cer Murshid Muneem said demand for infrared cookers had more than doubled year-on-year, while rice cooker sales had increased by around 200-300 percent.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have approved a pound 2.0 billion investment fund to support the decarbonization of Greece’s islands through electricity interconnections, renewable energy, energy storage and electric mobility.

The Islands Decarbonization Fund, developed jointly by the Greek government, the European Commission and the EIB, will fi nance projects aimed at reducing the islands’ reliance on costly diesel-fi red power generation while improving energy security and accelerating the country’s green transition.

About pound 1.1 billion of the fund will be allocated to electricity interconnections and related infrastructure in the Dodecanese, Cyclades and northeastern Aegean islands.

Fresh LP Gas, a concern of Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), has added a 2,000-metrictonne LPG carrier to its fl eet to strengthen transportation capacity and ensure reliable supplies across Bangladesh.

The new vessel, MT Mercantile-65, brings the company’s dedicated LPG carrier fl eet to three, with a combined capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes.

The vessels will transport imported LPG from the Kutubdia and Chattogram anchorages to Fresh LP Gas’s Meghnaghat and Mongla plants, supporting a more reliable supply network.

MGI Director Tanveer Mostafa said the company would continue investing in transportation and logistics to meet rising LPG demand.

Fresh LP Gas CMO Abu Sayed Raza said the expanded fl eet would help maintain yearround supply and extend LPG access to underserved areas.

Bangladesh has approved the direct purchase of 18 additional LNG cargoes f r o m TotalEnergies to meet urgent gas demand amid shrinking supplies and disruptions caused by the confl ict in West Asia.

The Economic Affairs Cabinet Committee approved the purchase of two cargoes a month from October through June, without a tender.

It also gave in-principle approval for additional purchases from TotalEnergies if required, subject to mutual agreement.

The government had earlier approved 22 LNG cargoes through direct purchases in August as gas shortages intensifi ed.

The government also approved proposals to purchase diesel, jet fuel and furnace oil from international suppliers including Trafi gura, Vitol Asia and Unipec for SeptemberDecember, with the combined proposed value running into tens of billions of taka.