Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

The country’s falling gas production continues to plague the industries, seriously threatening exports and e m p l o y m e n t generation.

The interim government has hiked LNG imports to address the crisis, but the move is far from being enough.

The industry leaders are calling on the government to take urgent steps to mitigate the crisis, or else.

Even four years ago, the country’s daily gas production ranged between 2,300 and 2,400 million cubic feet. Now, it has fallen to only 1,700 million cubic feet per day on average, impacting vehicle refueling services, power stations, residents and industries.

According to Petrobangla, the daily demand is over 4,200 million cubic feet, but only 2,830 million cubic feet was produced recently.

The crisis is leaving industries with underutilized goods production capacity, which is increasing production cost and trimming export potentials.

Investors are also discouraged by the crisis, leading to reduced business growth and falling employment prospects.

Recently, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan met Mohammad Saiful Islam, secretary at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, at the Secretariat.

There he placed five recommendations to alleviate the gas crisis.

Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (2×660 MW) at Rampal, Bagerhat, a thermal Power plant of BIFPCL, set a new benchmark by generating 771.70 million units of electricity at a PLF of 78.58% in August 2025.

This is the highest monthly output since its commissioning, contributing 7.62% of Bangladesh’s total generation of 10,100 million units.

For the last three consecutive months, the plant has been consistently generating over 600 million units, totaling 2,036.4 million units. Despite reliance on imported fuel, its scale, efficiency, and consistent performance enable Bangladesh to access stable and comparatively affordable electricity, supporting industries, boosting investor confidence, and reducing the risk of supply disruptions.

The interim government is currently in talks with Saudi oil giant Aramco to ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to ensure cooperation in the energy sector.

State-run Petrobangla has already prepared a draft of the MoU, which is currently being vetted by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. “We are eyeing to ink the MoU with Aramco to ensure cooperation in the energy sector, especially for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), refined petroleum products, etc,” said a senior Petrobangla official.

China said recently it had rejected a protest lodged by Japan over the development of gas fields in disputed waters of the East China Sea.

Tokyo’s foreign ministry said it had confirmed that Beijing was setting up drilling rigs in the area — where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) claims overlap.

It said it had “issued a strong protest” to the Chinese embassy. China’s foreign ministry said it did “not accept Japan’s groundless accusations and has rejected Japan’s socalled protest”.

A 2008 agreement saw Japan and China agree to jointly develop undersea gas reserves in the disputed area, with a ban on independent drilling by either country.

But negotiations over how to implement the deal were suspended in 2010.

Tokyo said 21 suspected drilling rigs had been positioned on Beijing’s side of the de facto maritime border, adding it was “extremely regrettable that China is advancing unilateral development”.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh, in collaboration with the international social-purpose organization Friendship, has launched an environmental initiative to provide clean energy, water, and climate resilience to the remote Notunchar Island in Kurigram. Notunchar, a sedimentary island located at the Northeastern point of Chilmari Upazila, remains disconnected from the national grid and basic infrastructure, including electricity, gas, and clean water, according to a press release issued by Standard Chartered Bangladesh recently.

Through this initiative, the island will be connected to a 70-kilowatt solar micro-grid, supported by a water treatment facility and a large-scale afforestation drive.

The solar plant, with an estimated energy output of 263 kilowatt-hours per day, will provide reliable power to 175 households, and multiple shops, schools, and religious institutions covering 875 beneficiaries.

Also, a water treatment plant – capable of supplying 60 liters of clean water per hour – will serve both the community’s drinking water needs and the solar grid’s maintenance requirements.

The future of the global energy landscape will be shaped by Asia and the Pacific.

Over the past two decades, our region has been the principal driver of global energy demand and emissions.

Energy has powered prosperity, lifted millions out of poverty, and transformed societies.

This progress, however, has come at a cost: widening inequalities, entrenched fossil fuel dependencies, and increasing climate vulnerability – which make achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate objectives challenging.

The Gaps We Must Close What will it truly take for the region to realize the energy transition and achieve SDG 7 – clean, affordable, reliable, and modern energy for all – by 2030?

The new Regional Trends Report on Energy for Sustainable Development shows that universal access to electricity is within reach. Yet other dimensions of sustainable energy require urgent acceleration. Clean cooking remains the most pressing challenge. Nearly one billion people in Asia and the Pacific still rely on traditional fuels, exposing households – especially women and children – to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution.

Renewable energy is growing, although the pace still falls short of what is needed to meet rising demand and lower emissions at the scale required. Per capita, Asia and the Pacific’s installed renewable energy capacity remains lower than in other parts of the world.

At the same time, energy efficiency continues to be underutilized, leaving untapped potential to reduce consumption, lower energy costs, and reduce carbon emissions.

These challenges are compounded by emerging pressures.

Securing access to and sustainably developing critical raw materials is essential for advancing energy transitions, while expanded regional power grid connectivity is crucial to improving energy security and keeping electricity affordable.

Rapidly growing sectors, such as data centers, also need to shift toward low-carbon pathways.

Meeting these priorities will demand strategic planning, coordinated action, and a strong commitment to fairness and equity.

Emerging Momentum The Asia-Pacific region has shown encouraging signs in recent years, with many emerging initiatives to draw inspiration from.

Subregional initiatives, including the ASEAN Power Grid and the Nepal-IndiaBangladesh trilateral power trade, are fostering cross-border electricity exchanges, improving reliability, and enabling greater renewable integration. China and India are at the forefront of renewables, while Pacific countries such as Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu have set targets for 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.

Indonesia and the Philippines are expanding geothermal capacity.

Grid-scale battery storage in Australia is helping manage renewable fluctuations and strengthen system resilience.

Industries, urban centers, and the transport sector are also driving change. Countries are rapidly expanding the adoption of electric vehicles through investment and infrastructure. Japan and Singapore are improving building energy efficiency with strict standards and incentive programs, and the Republic of Korea is deploying smart grid technologies to optimize usage.

These examples illustrate that innovation, investment, and cooperation are creating the conditions for scalable energy progress across the region.

A Just Transition for All The energy transition is not only a technological shift, but also a social transformation.

For many, such as workers in fossil fuel industries, those in energy-poor households, and youths entering the job market, the transition will be a lived reality.

Reskilling, education, and social protection must accompany this shift, while creating decent jobs in the renewable and energy efficiency sectors. Women are disproportionately affected by energy poverty and remain underrepresented in the energy workforce and decisionmaking roles.

Unlocking women’s full participation in the sector is needed to accelerate innovation and inclusive growth.

A just energy transition must be gender-responsive, with policies and investments designed to close gaps in access, employment, and leadership.

Turning Ambition into Action Three ingredients stand out: Ambition in policy and planning. Countries need bold, integrated policies that align national energy plans with climate commitments, including net-zero targets.

This means setting higher renewable energy ambitions, phasing down coal dependency, embedding energy efficiency into every sector, and ensuring policies are just and inclusive.

Scaled-up investment. Delivering SDG 7 requires mobilizing trillions in sustainable energy investment.

Governments alone cannot bear this burden. De-risking mechanisms, innovative financing, and publicprivate partnerships will be critical to unlock capital flows.

Regional cooperation.

Regional grid integration and cross-border power trade, and shared approaches to the development of critical energy transition minerals and technology standards can create efficiencies and resilience.

The region has shown that transformative change is possible. Just twenty years ago, hundreds of millions lacked access to electricity.

Today, universal access is within reach, proving that the seemingly insurmountable gaps in clean cooking, renewable deployment, and efficiency can be overcome with decisive political will and bold action.

As AsiaPacific countries gather in September at the ESCAP Committee on Energy, the message is clear: we must act with urgency, ambition, and solidarity, or risk being locked in high-carbon pathways.

The decisions made in the coming years will define the region’s energy future well beyond 2030.

Dato’ Ir.

Ts.

Razib D a w o o d , Executive Director of ACE (left) and Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, U n d e r – S e c r e t a r y General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP (right) during the MoU signing.

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) have officially forged a strategic partnership to advance ASEAN’s energy cooperation through a MemorandumofUnderstanding (MoU) signed at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on 1 September 2025.

The signing ceremony took place in conjunction with Asia-Pacific Energy Week, hosted by ESCAP, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation through accelerated just energy transitions.

The MoU was signed by Dato’ Ir.

Ts.

Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE, and Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, UnderSecretary-General of UN and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, representing their respective organizations.

The world’s first commercial service offering carbon storage off Norway’s coast has carried out its inaugural CO2 injection into the North Sea seabed, the Northern Lights c o n s o r t i u m operating the site said recently. Northern Lights, led by oil giants Equinor, Shell, and T o t a l E n e r g i e s , involves transporting and burying CO2 captured at smokestacks across Europe.

The aim is to prevent emissions from being released into the atmosphere, and thereby help halt climate change. “We now injected and stored the very first CO2 safely in the reservoir,” Northern Lights’ managing director Tim Heijn said in a statement. “Our ships, facilities, and wells are now in operation.” In concrete terms, after the CO2 is captured, it is liquified and transported by ship to the Oygarden terminal near Bergen on Norway’s western coast.

It is then transferred into large tanks before being injected through a 110 kilometre (68-mile) pipeline into the seabed, at a depth of around 2.6 kilometers, for permanent storage.

The first CO2 injection into the Northern Lights geological reservoir was from Germany’s Heidelberg Materials cement plant in Brevik in southeastern Norway.

At the initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Department of Environment (DoE) recently conducted mobile court operations simultaneously across the country to control noise and air pollution.

Significant fines have been collected, hydraulic horns seized, and legal action taken against violators in operations conducted in various districts, including Dhaka, Kurigram, Keraniganj, and Nilphamari.

In a mobile court operation in the Aminbazar area of Savar, nine vehicles were inspected.

Five of these vehicles were fined a total of Tk 18,000, and nine horns were seized.

In another operation targeting black smoke emissions in the Kuril Biswa Road Khilkhet area of Dhaka, conducted in cooperation with BRT, a total of Tk 10,000 in fines was collected from five cases under the Environmental Protection Act, 1995 (amended 2010).

A vehicle belonging to Victor Classic Paribahan was sent to a dumping ground for repeating the same offense despite being warned previously.

The DoE has stated that these types of mobile court operations to control noise and air pollution will continue regularly across the country.

Rooppur nuclear power plant is a prestigious project of Bangladesh, which has become a member of the elite club of nuclear electricity producers.

The plant is situated at Ishwardi in the district of Pabna, on the river Padma, which flows lean in the dry season and is full and turbulent in the Monsoon.

The plant consists of two units, each with a 1,200 MW Russian reactor model VVER-1200, for a total capacity of 2,400 MW.

Both units are under construction, and one of them has started pre-commissioning tests.

It is a turnkey project under Russian credit, and ROSATOM, a state-owned company of Russia, is taking care of the design, supply, installation, and commissioning.

The VVER-1200 model has been designed for cold countries like Russia, where cooling water below 20°C is naturally available at sea, lakes, and rivers.

The nominal capacity of 1,200 MW is based on cold weather conditions.

Bangladesh is a hot country, and so the capacity will be reduced.

Effect of hot weather in Bangladesh The ambient temperature in Ishwardi reaches 40°C during the peak summer.

The river water temperature also becomes very hot.

The cooling water temperature after evaporative cooling in cooling towers will be 32°C, and that at the condenser inlet will be 33°C, which is 15°C higher than the design temperature of 18°C.

As a result, the turbine will miss the output involved in this 15-degree range.

The plant will not be able to reach the nominal capacity.

A research paper states that capacity will decrease by 0.444% for a 1-degree increase in water temperature.

Thus, for hot weather, each unit of the Rooppur power plant will be de-rated by about 80 MW.

Borrowing of electricity from the national grid Unlike conventional nuclear power plants, the VVER-1200 cannot drive its auxiliaries by bleeding its own steam.

It has to borrow electricity from an external source.

There are huge water pumps and powerful motor-driven valves in the primary and secondary loops.

Additionally, the circuit contains numerous control unit assembly drives, ventilation units, and pumps, all of which require electrical power.

To run auxiliary drives, the plant will draw 120 MW from the grid, and the generated power will be adjusted accordingly. Power required for electric preheaters There are many pre-heaters in water and steam circuits.

They are all electric heaters instead of their own steam-heated heaters.

They will require huge amounts of electrical power, which will also come from an external source.

The power requirement will be around 10 MW. Power required by the fans of cooling towers The Rooppur power plant will utilize forced draft cooling towers to enhance evaporative cooling, producing cold water for the steam condenser.

Highpower draft fans are installed around the perimeter of the towers at the base.

The fans are an additional requirement for a plant in a cold country.

The fans will require approximately 12 MW of electrical power (0.1% of the nominal capacity), which the national grid will also supply.

Summation Rooppur power plant with a total capacity of 2,400 MW will be de-rated to about 1,960 MW (for hot weather, 160 MW, and for refund of borrowed electricity, 280 MW).

It will not be a surprise if the plant’s average output drops to 1,500 MW.

The situation will be a disappointment as the original levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) will no longer be valid.

The cost recovery plan of the project will be in jeopardy. Conclusion The VVER-1200, a high-capacity plant, faces a substantial reduction in capacity and is not cost-effective for Bangladesh.

Smaller plants, with a nominal capacity of around 500 MW that reject steam at temperatures above 50°C, will be a better choice for Bangladesh’s future expansion program, if any.

In that case, the steam can be condensed using naturally available water from a river or sea.

The plants shall be able to bleed steam to power the auxiliary drives, rather than relying on an external source for power.