Prime Minister’s Information Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has said the country’s gas crisis is the result of a problem that has accumulated over many years, noting that the interim government also did not take steps to explore onshore gas during its nearly two-year tenure.

“The gas crisis is a long-standing, accumulated problem. Exploration for onshore gas has remained halted for a long time,” he said.

“We are sympathetic to people’s problems, but this crisis has accumulated over many years. The interim government was in office for around two years, but it also did not try to explore gas onshore,” he added.

The adviser made the remarks at a press briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday morning on the progress of various government activities.

Dr Zahed said the interim government was “fortunate” that there was no war in the Middle East during its tenure.

Describing the current gas situation, the information adviser said a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that had been out of operation had been repaired.

“However, there is some difficulty in receiving the gas cargo currently scheduled for supply. Once it arrives, the crisis will ease considerably,” he said.

He also outlined several government measures to address the gas crisis. He said the government was planning to allow factories to pay their gas and electricity bills in 12 monthly instalments instead of making one-off payments to help keep them operational.

To conserve natural gas and reduce pressure on supplies, coal-fired power plants have been instructed to maximise generation, he said.

Dr Zahed said a feasibility study had been completed for an emergency Tk500 crore pipeline to quickly connect gas from a new gas field in Bhola to the national grid.

The project would be implemented quickly, he assured.