State Minister for Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the government has kept all avenues open for energy diversification so that it can choose an alternative source in case of any trouble with one.
Regarding domestic coal extraction, he said coal is there in the country but whether it will be extracted or not depends on a political decision.
“We have to assess the environmental impacts and how coal can be extracted avoiding farmlands with support to affected people. This is the priority. People and environment are the priorities to [Prime Minister] Sheikh Hasina,” the state minister said.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled “Bangabandhu, Energy Security and Today’s Bangladesh” held in the capital recently, said a press release.
Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) and Bangladesh Independent Power producer Association (BIPPA) organised the event where Energy and Power magazine Editor Mollah Amzad presented the keynote paper.
Nasrul Hamid said the prime minister already instructed taking a move, if possible, without causing any harm to farmlands and people.
“So, we are exploring that technology. It is not like that we would not do anything; coal is being extracted. We want to see how water can be managed. There is a huge amount of groundwater in the area,” he said. The state minister said there are issues like whether domestic coal extraction would be profitable, or import would create bigger opportunities.
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Mohammed Farashuddin was the special guest at the webinar. Petrobangla former Director Khandoker Abdus Saleq, BAPEX former Managing Director Mortuza Ahmed Faruque, and PDB former Chairman Khaled Mahmood took part in it, among others.
FERB Chairman Arun Karmakar chaired and FERB Executive Director Shamim Jahangir anchored the discussion. Senior journalists Shahnaz Begum, Rafiqul Bashar, Shahed Siddique and Azizur Rahman Ripon also spoke.
Most of the speakers at the webinar, first of its kind by FERB, laid emphasis on domestic coal extraction and good governance in the energy sector to achieve energy security of the country.
They said the country has a reserve of 3.1 billion tonnes of high-quality coal, but the government is yet to take effective steps to extract the resource and utilise it for power generation.
They said the existing reserve of natural gas will be depleted by 2031 which is why the government should give more attention to coal as an energy source.
The speakers focused on achievements in the energy sector as well as the issues concerning the sector, including the unexplored domestic coal resources, long-waited Phulbari coal project and lack of good governance in the energy sector.
