Industries still face gas crisis as CNG terminal stays non-functional

Gas-intensive industries continue to struggle as a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) still remains non-operational, according to industry insiders.

Earlier, government officials had assured that the gas supply situation would improve by mid-July, following the return of the FSRU, which was damaged during Cyclone Remal on 26 May and subsequently repaired in Singapore.

On Saturday, The Business Standard spoke to the owners of five gas-dependent textile industries from various regions, and nearly all reported that the situation has not improved.

"There has been no improvement in the gas supply to my spinning mills in Manikganj. Our approved gas pressure is 15 PSI (pounds per square inch), but on Saturday, the pressure was zero. Our production has almost come to a halt," Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, managing director of Rising Spinning Mills Limited, told TBS.

"Recently, the gas supply pressure was also zero, and the situation has not improved. Not only my mills, but all of the over 100 gas-based industries in this area – including textile, ready-made garment, ceramic, and steel mills – are suffering like us," he added.

The country's industries have been experiencing a gas crisis for the past two years, but the situation has worsened in the last two and a half months due to damage to a floating LNG terminal caused by Cyclone Remal, which struck Bangladesh in May.

The situation was expected to improve by mid-July, as one of the two FSRUs had been repaired in Singapore, according to officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.

After assuming charge of the industries ministry, interim government adviser Adilur Rahman Khan told journalists yesterday, "Resolving the gas crisis in the industrial sector is crucial for keeping the wheels of the economy fully operational."

On the same day, the adviser met with senior officials of the ministry.

Azahar Khan, chairman of Mithela Group, a textile mill based in Narayanganj, said, "The gas crisis has worsened, and now the pressure has dropped to zero PSI. Not just my industry, but almost all industries in the Narayanganj area are suffering."

"Petrobangla's chairman had assured us that the situation would improve by 10 August, but the reality is different," he said, adding, "We have already incurred huge losses due to the recent and ongoing countrywide unrest, and it will be unbearable for us to continue like this."

The chairman of the country's top-rated green factory said, "The country is now crying out for foreign currency. If the government provides a proper gas supply, we will be able to recover by reducing losses."

"Some factories are now facing order cancellations or resorting to air shipments," he added.

Khorshed Alam, chairman of Little Star Spinning Mills Limited, told TBS, "At 4:30pm on Saturday, the gas pressure in our other unit in Savar was 1.5 PSI, whereas our approved pressure is 10 PSI. By supplementing the gas supply with electricity from REB, we were able to run our mill at about 30% of its capacity."

Two other owners also mentioned that the situation had not improved.

One FSRU still not working

Last month, Md Kamruzzaman Khan, director of Petrobangla, expressed optimism that the gas supply situation would improve by mid-July following the repair of the FSRU.

He told TBS, "Commissioning will take an additional three days, and we anticipate it will be operational by 16 July, hopefully improving the situation from then on."

However, a month later, the situation has still not improved. What is the reason for this?

On Saturday, the official said, "We have not been able to properly set up the FSRU yet due to adverse weather conditions in the deep sea, but we are working on it."

He added, "Our target was to have the FSRU fully operational by July and then by 10 August, but we missed those deadlines. The officials are working to make it operational, but I am not sure when it will be fully functional."

Currently, the gas supply is about 2,500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), against the demand of 3,800 mmcfd.