Economic Reporter :
A feasibility study is being undertaken for setting up a land based Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal phase-I at Matarbari, in Cox’s Bazar, having a capacity to process 1000 mmcfd (million cubic feet per day.
“The government has been given administrative approval for allocation of 47 hectare land to install the terminal,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said on Thursday.
He said Tokyo Gas, Japan would conduct the feasibility study for setting up the land based terminal at Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar, adding, “We have floated Expression of Interest (EOI) for completion of Terminal Developer Selection.”
The state minister expected that the land based LNG terminal would come into commission from 2023, adding, “The present government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has undertaken various initiatives to ensure the country’s energy security.”
According to the ministry source, the government, the location of Matarbari is suitable than any other location for the LNG terminal. The terminal, has a provision to extend its phase-II for processing another 500mmcfd, which would be completed in 2030.
Besides, the government has also added LNG to the national grid and initiative is underway to bring more LNG from different countries.
With the present government’s sincere and relentless efforts, natural gas supply has increased to 2,700 million cubic feet in 2018 from 1,744 million cubic feet in 2009 and the number of gas fields rose to 27 from 23.
The government conducted two dimensional survey of 16,696 line kilometer for searching oil and gas, while 5,236 square kilometer was completed three dimensional survey and 19,412 line kilometer geological survey, according to Petrobangla.
