The state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Anindya Islam Amit, has given an assurance that the crisis in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply will be resolved quickly and that gas supply to the national grid will be restored to normal from next week.
He said: “If they [Excelerate Energy] can restore 50 percent of supply next week as expected, they will be able to restore 100 percent the week after. That is the planning so far. I am saying this according to their statement; we are not giving a specific day and date on the basis of their information, because they have given days and dates before and have not been able to keep them for various reasons.”
The state minister made the remarks at a briefing on the power and energy situation on Monday, 27 July.
Anindya Islam Amit said a government technical team is working with Excelerate Energy. If the situation returns to normal, the supply will increase by 50 to 55 crore cubic feet a day. Of that, 28 to 30 crore cubic feet could begin flowing next week.
The state minister said he was speaking about the resumption of gas supply on the basis of Excelerate’s information.
The state minister said a specific day and date could not be given, because although Excelerate had previously given a specific time, it had been unable to finish the work for various reasons. It is a technical matter, he said, so it is hard to give a time in advance.
The state minister said there is a question of importing certain parts, and of clearing the imports. They will bring them in by air, and the government will take responsibility for clearing them quickly. Every effort is continuing, he said.
Apologising to the public over the crisis, the state minister said mothers and sisters are facing challenges in cooking for the household every day. Production in industry has been disrupted. With no pressure at CNG stations, public transport has been affected. There is no hesitation in saying, he said, that this is not the fault of any government body but of a private company, although it is one that ensures gas supply in the country. An immediate solution cannot be given. That we cannot give one is our limitation, he said, and he apologised repeatedly.
This is a government elected by the people’s votes, he said, so there is not the slightest hesitation in apologising to the people. It is not a matter of refusing to accept responsibility because it is not a government body.
The state minister said the terminal was damaged in a fire and there was a boiler explosion. A bigger accident could have occurred: an LNG-laden vessel was alongside, and it was quickly moved away.
Claiming that there is no crisis in importing LNG, the state minister said LNG is not stockpiled; rather, vessels arrive regularly with LNG. The schedule of arriving vessels has been altered somewhat in view of the present situation.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report