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Last Updated: September 2015

Overview


Map of Bangladesh
Map of Bangladesh
  • Natural gas and solid biomass and waste account for the majority of Bangladesh’s total primary energy consumption with the remainder being oil, coal, and hydro. In 2012, Bangladesh’s primary energy consumption was an estimated 55% natural gas, 27% traditional biomass and waste, 15% oil, 3% coal, and less than 1% hydropower and solar, according to the International Energy Agency.

Petroleum and other liquids

  • Bangladesh is a net importer of crude oil and other liquids. In 2014, the country produced 4,800 barrels per day (bbl/d) of petroleum and other liquids and consumed more than 124,000 bbl/d. Because oil consumption has been increasing after 2010 to make up for the shortage of natural gas especially in the power sector, Bangladesh continues to increase its crude oil and oil product imports. Bangladesh processes crude oil at its 28,000-bbl/d-refinery owned by Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation. Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation initially planned to triple the refinery’s capacity by 2016, although little progress has been made thus far.

Natural gas

  • Bangladesh, the eighth largest natural gas producer in the Asia Pacific region in 2014, produced 833 billion cubic feet (Bcf/y), all of which was domestically consumed. Natural gas production in Bangladesh has steadily increased by an annual average of 6% from 2004 to 2014. However, Bangladesh still faces acute natural gas supply shortages especially in the electricity sector. These shortages, in turn, have led to rolling blackouts of electricity.
  • Onshore fields currently supply all of the country’s natural gas supply, although production of these mature fields is expected to plateau in the next few years. Bangladesh is seeking greater investment in its offshore area. The country plans to launch its next licensing round for several shallow water and deepwater fields in 2016, about four years after its last tender.
  • Bangladesh also hopes to increase natural gas supply through LNG imports to limit strains on its power grid and reduce blackouts. In 2014, state-owned Petrobangla signed a preliminary agreement with a U.S. consortium, consisting of Astra Oil and Excelerate Energy, to build the country’s first offshore floating LNG import terminal with a regasification capacity of 240 billion cubic feet per year (Bcf/y). Bangladesh is prioritizing natural gas imports to relieve some of the gas shortage issues in the short term and intends to expedite the development of its first LNG terminal. Bangladesh is seeking to extend a memorandum of understanding signed with Qatar to supply natural gas to the terminal with the expectation that the terminal will come online by 2017. Also, state-owned Power Cell is evaluating plans to build an onshore LNG import terminal at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.

Oil and natural gas sector organization

  • The Bangladesh, Oil, Gas, and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) is the key oil and natural gas company in Bangladesh. International Oil Companies (IOCs) must sell natural gas to Petrobangla at a government-determined price and are restricted in their ability to sell natural gas to customers directly.
  • Chevron is the leading IOC in Bangladesh’s natural gas sector. Other IOCs, ConocoPhillips and ONGC Videsh Limited, are expected to begin exploring for hydrocarbon resources in three shallow-water blocks in the Bay of Bengal. ConocoPhillips and Norway’s Statoil hold exploration contracts for three deepwater blocks. Bangladesh is attempting to attract investment by IOCs through favorable financial incentives, particularly by enhancing fiscal terms of contracts and enacting energy price reforms.

Electricity

  • Gross electricity generation has increased by an annual average of 9% from 2004 to 2014, reaching almost 58 terawatthours, which has strained Bangladesh’s electricity grid. According to Facts Global Energy, Bangladesh’s share of gas-fired capacity accounted for 70% of total installed electricity capacity which reached 10.6 gigawatts (GW) by 2014. More than 2 GW of oil-fired capacity was installed in the last few years as quick rental units that run on diesel or fuel oil. Bangladesh plans to more than double power generation capacity to 24 GW by 2021, primarily through the use of coal and natural gas.
  • According to the government of Bangladesh, about 62% of the population has access to electricity. As a result, 38% of the population mainly relies on traditional biomass and waste for cooking and heating. The government seeks to replace older, inefficient units and increase electricity generation capacity to match the electrification rates of other developing countries.