Considering the rising demand for LPG, state-owned LP Gas Limited is going to set up a LPG plant having production capacity of one lakh tonnes per year in Chattagram. Besides, a LPG cylinder manufacturing factory with capacity of 20 lakh pieces annually in Tangail. Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will be financed there, official said.
According to LP Gas Limited, Chattagram Deputy Commissioner Office was allocated 10 acore of land in Sitakundhu of Chattagram district to build the LPG plant. Later, the Department of Environment has objection and they said that the forest division will afforest there. LPG plant cannot be set up there. However, the afforest activities has not start yet, the land is abandon till now.
In this regards, the LP Gas limited has proposed to the energy division to arrange an inter-ministry meeting including with all concern department to get allocate of the land. The energy division was also agreed with the proposal.
On the other hand, some 50 acore of land has already allocated at Matarbari of Coxesbazar district to build a LPG terminal. Along with build a LPG plant, the LP Gas limited will set up a world class LPG cylinder manufacturing factory worth around taka 68 crore in Alenga of Tangil district. The board of directors of the company has already given policy approval in this regard. It has been asked to submit a report to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources after examining the feasibility within the next one month.
Md. Fazlur Rahman Khan, Managing Director of LP Gas Limited told Bangladesh Post “currently the LPG production and cylinder manufacturing capacity is lower than the demand. However, the LPG demand is increasing day by day. The plan has been adopted considering the demand for LP gas in the country. We have taken this decision to reduce the import dependence when the LP market grows in the future.”
Sources said, BPC acquired 6.9 acres of land in 1985 to set up the cylinder manufacturing plant at Alenga in Tangail from a plan to increase gas demand in the northern part of the country. The land was acquired from a plan to get a large quantity of condensate from a gas well at Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria. The corporation also thought that the condensate would be bottled through the pipeline. But, the land had been lying fallow for about 35 years due to lack of condensate in Ashuganj. As the previous plan was not implemented, LP Gas Company has taken a plan to set up a new manufacturing plant on that land.
The LP gas company says about three acres of land will be needed to set up the plant. BPC has an office building with three sheds of 11,820 square feet, boundary wall, fire pond, security post there. The company said that these can be utilized if a manufacturing plant is set up.
According to the Energy Division, the total supply of LPG in January 2009 was 45,000 tonnes. At present this quantity has increased to 12 lakh tonnes. Of this, only 10,000 tonnes is being supplied by state-owned LP gas limited. Private companies are supplying the rest. However, currently the yearly demand is around 15 lakh tonnes.
Considering the demand, the country needs about 16 million cylinders every year. If it increases by 15 percent a year, the country will need 2.4 million cylinders in the next five years. Moreover, the number of LP gas customers is increasing at a rate of 20 percent in the country at present. As a result the cylinder will need to be replaced.
At least 22 private companies are doing LPG business in the country. Of these, only 2-3 companies are manufacturing LPG cylinders. On the other hand, the state-owned company has only 4.5 lakh cylinders. Most of these cylinders are old and have lost their quality. However most of the cylinders are still imported from abroad. In this situation, the state-owned company had planned to set up its own plant long ago to meet the shortage of cylinders.
The country’s gas demand is increasing rapidly due to the industrial and socio-economic development. However the gas supply for domestic use is depleting. The government is discouraging use of pipeline gas due to looming crisis of the natural resource.
Against the backdrop of an ever-increasing gas demand, the government decided to import LNG in 2010 to meet the country’s dire energy deficit and finally the LNG import was started from 2018. The country currently has two Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRUs) with a total regasification capacity of 1,000 mmcfd.
LPG is a mixture of propane and butane that becomes liquid under pressure, which can then be stored in pressurized containers for use.
In addition to residential purposes, various other uses of LPG have been started. Meanwhile, auto gas has been introduced in the country, which is mainly used as fuel for transportation. Auto gas can be found at lower prices than those of petrol and compressed natural gas (CNG). LPG is also being used in commercial kitchens.
World LPG Association (WLPGA) sees Bangladesh as one of the fastest-growing LPG markets in the world, and predicts that demand for the fuel might reach up to 30 lakh tonnes by 2025.
