The gas crisis that city dwellers have been facing since the first day of Ramadan will be resolved from today (Friday) as the Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field resumed full production.
Meanwhile, an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) cargo arrived at the Maheshkhali terminal on Thursday morning, and it will supply around 450–500 million cubic feet of gas. And another LNG cargo is expected to arrive on Friday, said Petrobangla.
According to Petrobangla, “An LNG cargo with 2,950 million cubic feet of LNG arrived at Maheshkhali on Thursday at 8am. By 9pm, around 400 to 500 million gas will be generated to the grid after regasification. Another cargo is expected to arrive at the summit terminal today (Friday), which might be added to the national grid from the night of the day.
On the other hand, after four days of disruption, the Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field resumed full production from Thursday morning.
Chevron Bangladesh in a statement confirmed the development, saying that the Bibiyana Gas Plant has resumed full operations, with all process trains operational, five of the six affected wells back online and gas production at normal levels.
The trains and wells were progressively restored this week after a suspension of operations following the discovery of technical anomalies in one well on April 3. The cause of the anomalies in the well, which remains offline, are being investigated, said the company.
Regrettably, this impacted gas supplies to consumers for some days this week. Chevron Bangladesh acknowledged the assistance and partnership of Petrobangla in responding to this event, said Shaikh Jahidur Rahman, communications manager of Chevron Bangladesh.
The gas crisis has worsened the plight of consumers in Dhaka and the adjoining areas for the last couple of days. Many city dwellers alleged that they could not cook food for Iftar and Sehri due to gas shortage. Production in many industries has been halted and electricity production was also disrupted.
Experts blamed the extraction of gas beyond capacity from the Bibiyana gas field for the crisis.
A sudden gas problem at the Bibiyana gas field caused low gas pressure in some parts of the country from the first day of Ramadan on Sunday.
Bibiyana gas field has 26 wells that produce around 1,250mmcf gas. But the production dropped to 888mmcf on Sunday as the six wells had to undergo emergency maintenance.
According to Petrobangla, Bibiyana in Moulvibazar district is the largest gas field in the country. The daily production capacity of the gas field is 1.2 billion cubic feet. A total of 1.27 cubic feet of gas was extracted from the gas field even on Saturday.
Sand was found in two gas processing units after midnight that day. Failing to detect the source of sand, the authorities stopped extraction from six wells on Sunday. As a result, production decreased by 420 million cubic feet which ultimately led to a shortage in gas supply.
The disruption of the key necessity is not only hampering regular activities but also enhancing the living cost of the residents, as they have to make various alternative arrangements to cope with the problem.
Gas crisis has disrupted production of many readymade garment factories in Ashulia, Chandra, Shafipur, and Gazipur areas.Owners of around 2,400 apparel and textile factories are worried over shipment deadlines due to the gas crisis.
