Speakers
at a dialogue Thursday said the export
option of gas can be considered only after
ensuring a reserve for long-term domestic
consumption. They also demanded the production-sharing
contracts (PSCs) with international oil
companies (IOCs) should be renegotiated
if it is certain that the country is paying
much more than the existing international
gas price. They, however, observed that
all aspects of energy security must be
taken into account while taking a major
policy decision in the sector.
Organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue
(CPD), the function was addressed by politicians,
present and former bureaucrats, business
leaders, representatives from IOCs, experts
and academicians. Noted economist and
CPD chairman Rehman Sobhan presided over
the dialogue. State Minister for Energy
and Mineral Resources A K M Mosharraf
Hossain said the country requires huge
investment for meeting local demand of
gas supply. By the year 2030, he added
between 20 and 40 billion US dollars will
be required for supplying gas to local
people. He observed that the government
is giving a huge subsidy to independent
power producers (IPPs) to pave the way
for making huge profits by them. He also
agreed that different aspects of energy
security should be taken into consideration
and there should be transparency at the
time of taking any policy decisions.
The state minister, however, said there
should be debate in parliament before
taking any decision on the utilisation
of country’s gas resources. Political
Secretary to the opposition leader in
parliament Saber Hossain Chowdhury said
the Awami League is not against the export
of gas, but before that, domestic consumption
of the natural resource should be ensured
for a long period. "As of now, we
do not have enough reserve for export,"
he said. Criticising the recently submitted
gas body report, he said the committee
was supposed to outline a plan for optimum
utilisation of country’s gas resources,
but it did not do that. "The report
was not a conclusive one," he observed.
He also pointed out that the national
resources should be utilised for national
development. Opposing the gas export,
general secretary of the Communist Party
of Bangladesh (CPB) Mujahedul Islam Selim
said, if necessary, public opinion can
be mobilised internationally for terminating
the ‘unfair PSCs with IOCs’.
Former state minister for foreign affairs
Abul Hasan Chowdhury said only four per
cent people are getting gas from pipelines
and only 20 per cent people have access
to electricity. "I think there will
be a consensus that under the present
circumstances, the question of gas export
is not negotiable," he said. Awami
League lawmaker Kazi Zafarullah also said
the contracts with IOCs were not right.
"It was against the interest of the
country and it must be renegotiated,"
he said. Another member of parliament
from the opposition Awami League, Faruk
Khan, said there is no logic behind export
of gas from the present reserve. He expressed
the fear that the security and sovereignty
of the country might be jeopardised if
the pipeline is installed for gas export.
Acting managing director of Unocal Bangladesh
Limited James R Stone said Bangladesh
has huge gas reserve potentials. "There
is a significant number of high quality
and creditworthy customers in the Delhi
area, who have the ability to pay better
prices for surplus gas of Bangladesh"
he said. Stone also said a clear-cut policy
decision to allow export of gas through
pipeline is required in order to inject
further investments into the sector.
President of Foreign Investors’ Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Wali
Bhuiyan said if the government is convinced
that the prices of gas supplied by IOCs
are not right, it can renegotiate the
issue with them. Leader of the Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) Hasanul Haq Inu
warned that if the IOCs installed pipelines
for gas export, people of the country
will blow it up.
