DHAKA, Oct 29, 2013: Putting emphasis on strengthening Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the state-owned company should have a share in the agreement with foreign companies on exploring oil and gas.
“I would like to tell the authorities concerned to strengthen the Bapex further and train up its manpower so that we could ourselves explore gas and oil,” she said.
Besides, she added: “Our manpower including engineers and officers will have to be given scope for work with foreign firms so that they could gather experiences and prepare themselves through work.”
The Prime Minister expressed these views while inaugurating the Bapex Bhaban at Karwan Bazar and laying the foundation stone of the Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) Bhaban at Sher-e- Bangla Nagar in the capital this morning.
Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Subid Ali Bhuiyan and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, MP, also spoke at the function.
Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Mozammel Haque Khan chaired the function, while Petrobangla Chairman Dr Hossain Monsur delivered the welcome address.
Seeking cooperation of the people to build Bangladesh as a prosperous and developed nation, the Prime Minister said her government wants to make the country self-reliant in all sectors by utilizing the sun of the sky and resources of the soil.
Sheikh Hasina also pledged to reach electricity to every house and said the aim of the Awami League is to enlighten the people and the nation.
“If we are given another chance to serve the nation, we would enlighten the country and people by reaching electricity to every house,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the government has implemented various programmes for optimum use of gas for the country’s development. “To achieve the goal, we did not agree of giving ‘muchleka’ (undertaking) for exporting gas in 2001,” she said.
In this connection, she referred to a meeting before the 2001 general election where former caretaker government chief Justice Latifur Rahman, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and ex- US president Jimmy Carter were also present.
She said: “Awami League was not allowed to go to power in 2001 as we did not agree to export gas. We told at that meeting that we would export gas after being ensured its reserve for 50 years.”
The Prime Minister said the people have the legitimate rights over the natural resources of the country. “The power is not a big thing to me….I could not hand over the resources to others,” she said.
The Prime Minister said energy is one of the tools of development. The demand of world energy is almost met from the fossil fuel like oil, gas and coal.
She said she is delighted and proud of making contribution to the infrastructure development of two organizations–Bapex and GTCL– under Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation meaning Petrobangla.
Sheikh Hasina said her government has strengthened the Bapex from technical and technological aspects. The Bapex has been able to carry out three-dimensional survey and discover new gas fields, she said.
“Bapex has now been established as an international-standard organization as three new rigs and modern machineries have been procured for the organization,” she said.
The Prime Minister said Bangladesh won the maritime boundary
verdict against Myanmar. As a result, she said, Bangladesh’s
sovereign rights over 1.11 lakh square kilometer area in the
North Bay of Bengal has been established.
She mentioned that maritime boundary verdict with India would
be announced next year. “I have firm belief that the judgment
would also come in favour of us as we have presented necessary
data and papers to this end,” she said.
She said initiatives have been taken for achieving local
capabilities in exploring natural resources in this vast area.
The Prime Minister said from the beginning, the present
government had taken initiatives for gas exploration, production,
transmission, and distribution at customers’ level. “Two new gas
wells at Sundalpur and Srikail have been discovered,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said production has been increased through
drilling work over well in different gas fields which boosted
daily gas production by 600 million cubic feet.
The Prime Minister said electricity and fertilizers are being
produced through this gas. “It is also being used as fuel in
different industries and commercial organizations,” she said
adding gas is also being distributed to CNG stations and houses.
Sheikh Hasina said gas has been supplied in Rajshahi and
Bhola towns, while initiatives have been taken to supply gas in
Kushtia, Jhenidah, Jessore and Khulna.
She said 393 kilometer gas transmission pipe line has been
set up, and 423 kms transmission pipe line would be installed by
June next.
The Prime Minister said the government set up the Muchai Gas
Compressor Station last year, while construction of two more
compressor stations at Ashuganj and Elenga have been completed
for further development of gas distribution system across the
country.
Sheikh Hasina said the government has raised power generation
capacity to 9,713 megawatts. “We have set up 57 power plants with
4,432 MW capacity, while 32 more power plants with 6,419 MW are
under construction,” she said.
The Prime Minister said highest 6,675-MW electricity was
supplied to the national grid and 62 percent people have been
brought under the electricity facilities. “We would celebrate a
festival soon for touching the milestone of power generation
capacity of 10,000 MW,” she hoped.
She said importing electricity from India has begun and
initiatives have been taken to import electricity from Nepal,
Bhutan and Myanmar.
“About 30 lakh solar home systems have been introduced and
biogas plants have been set up in rural areas as we are
implementing a plan of reaching electricity to every house of the
country,” she said.
The Prime Minister said her government has achieved more than
the commitments it made to the people in power and energy sector
before the 2008 general elections.
“We have fulfilled basic demands of people by ensuring their
all services including power, gas and water,” she said.
The construction work of Bapex Bhaban began on March 8 in
2009 and ended on October 29 in 2013. The 15-storey building was
constructed from the Bapex’s own financing on 18 kathas of land
at a cost of Taka 70.80 crore.
The 13-storey GTCL Bhaban is being constructed on two bigha
lands at Agargaon in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar at a cost of Taka 108.38
crore . The GTCL is constructing the building from its own
financing. The work of the project is scheduled to end on August
31 in 2015.