Gas crunch likely to linger for 2 more months on LNG supply disruption

Infograph: TBS

A gas supply crisis in the country propelled by maintenance work at LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal is likely to linger for two more months.

According to officials at Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited and Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited, gas supply is low due to maintenance of the LNG terminal. Maintenance work on one of the two pipelines began last November. It is scheduled to be commissioned today.

Once the gas supply starts through the maintained line, the maintenance work of the other one will start. It will take two more months to complete, they said.

Industrial factories and business establishments have been facing severe gas shortages since November. Due to reduced supply of gas, production in industrial plants is being disrupted. Factory owners are carrying on production with alternative fuels including diesel and furnace oil. It has increased the cost of production.

There is no chance of normalisation before next March or April unless LNG supply is ensured with two pipelines, the officials said.

Md Shah Alam, general manager (LNG) of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas, told The Business Standard the daily LNG supply now declined by nearly 40% to 500 million cubic feet (mmcf) from the usual supply of 800mmcf.

According to Petrobangla data, the daily gas demand for gas in the country is 4,000mmcf. But now supply of gas has come down below 2,500mmcf.

Petrobangla officials say LNG has to be imported from the spot market. Due to the ongoing dollar crunch, LNG imports are now less than normal. But now maintenance work at the LNG terminal worsened the crisis, they said.

Factories severely affected

Industries across the country including in Dhaka and Chattogram have been facing a severe gas crisis, disrupting production in various sectors including garments, ceramics, cement, steel, etc.

Factory owners say due to the fluctuation in gas pressure, their production machinery is about to break down. They suggest that the gas authorities should supply gas according to the schedule. It will prepare the factory owners to run the factory with alternative fuel, they say.

Readymade garment factory owners say the schedule in the dyeing and finishing sector could not be maintained due to low supply of gas. Factories are not getting fabric on time which disrupts production, they say.

Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told TBS that if the gas pressure is low, the colour quality in the textile factory is lost. "Keeping production running with alternative fuels more than doubles the cost. Due to production disruptions, shipment schedules are feared to be disrupted."

Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said the gas crisis has gone to the extreme for two weeks. "The crisis is seen more in the Chattogram, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Savar areas. That's why dyeing factories in these areas are suffering a lot."

Irfan Uddin, general secretary of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the machines of the ceramics factory should be kept running for 24 hours round the year.

"Once stopped, its lifespan decreases. Due to low gas pressure, our factories have to be kept closed for a large part of the day. As a result, apart from the increase in production cost, we are also in danger of machinery failure," he said.

Zahir Uddin, managing director of Confidence Cement, said the cement sector has been suffering losses due to low supply of gas. Production costs are already on the rise due to the high cost of raw materials, he said. Out of this, the cost of production has increased by 30% due to running production with alternative fuels, Zahir Uddin added.

Gas supply falls 11% in Chattogram

Chattogram saw an 11% decrease in gas supply due to the ongoing situation.

Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited General Manager (Operation) Aminur Rahman told TBS that the daily gas demand in Chittagong is 325 million cubic feet. "But we are now getting a supply of about 290 million cubic feet," he said.

He also said gas supply has to be kept uninterrupted in two fertiliser factories in Chattogram ahead of Boro season. As a result, gas supply is slightly less elsewhere, he said.

According to official data, there are 1,200 heavy industrial factories in Chattogram. The acute gas crisis is taking a toll on heavy industries most. Among them, the industries of iron, cement, shipbreaking, corrugated tin and garments are the most affected.

Tapan Sen Gupta, deputy managing director of BSRM Group, said that the gas crisis has worsened for about a week. "As the pressure is low, we have kept our production running with furnace oil. It has increased the production cost by Tk1,000 per tonne," he said.