[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh's Summit reviewing cross-border power deals after India rule change

Bangladesh's Summit Group plans to renegotiate preliminary deals to import renewable power from India after a recent rule change by New Delhi allowed generators that exclusively export their electricity to sell locally, the utility's chairman said

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladesh's Summit reviewing cross-border power deals after India rule change

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Bangladesh's Summit Group plans to renegotiate preliminary deals to import renewable power from India after a recent rule change by New Delhi allowed generators that exclusively export their electricity to sell locally, the utility's chairman said.

India amended its power export rules less than a week after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh early this month amid deadly protests, enabling Adani Power to connect its Godda coal-fired plant -- the only generating station under contract to export all its output -- to India's domestic grid.

"After the policy change, my partners in India might be more willing to sell in India. Our company will be investing in transmission in Bangladesh and we will have to assume more risks," Summit Group Chairman Aziz Khan told Reuters.

The conglomerate, which operates over a dozen fossil fuel-based power generation plants, signed preliminary deals with Indian partners including Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd last year to construct and source supply from 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable projects.

A spokesman for Tata Power declined to comment on Summit's plans.

Green power imports are crucial for slashing emissions in Bangladesh, which gets nearly 99% of its electricity from fossil fuels. Land scarcity in the densely-populated country of over 170 million has constrained higher solar additions.

Summit Power International, the Singapore-based holding company for Summit Group's power generation assets, is exploring options including delaying investments until there is more policy clarity, and renegotiating financial terms to account for higher risks, Khan said.

"Such quick changes in policies are always a matter of concern as they have long-term implications," Khan said, referring to India's rule change.

Summit's plans to import clean electricity via India from 700 megawatts of hydro power plants it planned to build in Bhutan and Nepal as a part of $3 billion in regional clean power investments also face uncertainty due to a new government in Bangladesh, Khan said.

No final decisions on the cross-border investments have been taken yet, Khan said, adding that the company would continue to invest within Bangladesh.

Khan said the new Bangladesh government's decision to suspend a law allowing awards of power supply contracts without tenders also contributed to his decision to review projects.​

All the brothers in Summit Group are in really intense hot water for negotiating 'unfair' power deals to benefit Hasina and Adani and indirectly, Modi's Hindutva apparatus.

One of the clauses of the signed power supply agreement between Adani and the Bangladesh PDB says that Bangladesh will be bound to pay Adani 35% of the negotiated monthly electricity charges even if Adani does not supply one unit of electricity to Bangladesh!

I am surprised the Bangladesh Govt. has not officially notified Indian Govt and the Adani organization that this agreement is null and void already....

 

[Saif]

I am surprised the Bangladesh Govt. has not officially notified Indian Govt and the Adani organization that this agreement is null and void already....

Bangladesh cancelled the energy deal with Adani? What's your source?

 

[Saif]

Much-cherished oil refinery building thru fresh bidding

A much-cherished crude-oil refinery will now be built through fresh competitive biddings as the interim government Thursday cancelled controversial S Alam Group's deal and made the latest decision. The long-delayed refinery project, 'installation of ERL unit -2', will be implemented under

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Much-cherished oil refinery building thru fresh bidding
Interim govt scraps proposed SA Group deal
M Azizur Rahman
Published :
Aug 30, 2024 00:37
Updated :
Aug 30, 2024 00:37

A much-cherished crude-oil refinery will now be built through fresh competitive biddings as the interim government Thursday cancelled controversial S Alam Group's deal and made the latest decision.

The long-delayed refinery project, 'installation of ERL unit -2', will be implemented under public procurement rules (PPR) -2008, the energy and mineral resources division (EMRD) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) decides.

State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will estimate the overall project cost by taking into account the latest foreign-currency rate, prepare the development project proposal (DPP) and send it to the Planning Commission for approval.

An MPEMR meeting, chaired by adviser for power and energy, and road transport and bridges Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, made the decision.

Officials said prior to the fall of the previous authoritarian government, the then prime minister's office had approved a proposal on building the new oil refinery under public-private joint venture with majority stakes going to the acquisitive S Alam Group.

Earlier, the BPC had sought necessary funds worth around US$2.0 billion from the government to build the proposed 3.0-million-tonne-capacity crude-oil refinery in Chattogram.

Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL), a wholly owned subsidiary of BPC, is set to implement the project.

Sources said Bangladesh had 'failed' to build any crude-oil refinery over the past half a century after its independence, resulting in huge waste foreign currencies gone into import of refined oils from the international market.

Only 'negligence' on part of the authorities concerned is to blame, they added-in an indication of dominance of rent-seeking import lobbies.

The country's currently operational maiden refinery - Eastern Refinery Ltd - was built way back in 1968 by French company Technip, three years before the emergence of Bangladesh from the Pakistani rule.

The volume of petroleum-oil imports has increased around threefold over the past five decades to feed growing consumption in transport, industries and other commercial outlets with the expansion of the country's overall economy.

Technip carried out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) a couple of years back for the new refinery. The BPC had been in talks with Technip over the past several years to have the refinery built through a negotiation bypassing tender process.

The contractor of ERL's existing refinery was interested to build the proposed refinery under an unsolicited deal-in line with the precedence of quick-rental deals in the energy sector, now ditched with the regime change.

An Indian consulting firm, Engineers India Limited (EIL), had been engaged with the proposed project as consultant for the past several years until early 2024 before the emergence of upstart S Alam Group to lay stakes on the project, they added.

The Indian consultancy, EIL, had estimated that the cost might be around $1.80 billion if the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor was selected through competitive tendering.

The EIL's consultancy cost for the project was around Tk 2.56 billion.

The Technip-done FEED work was also reviewed and accepted by the BPC in consultation with the EIL, which was carried out at a cost of around Tk 3.72 billion.

Once implemented, the new refinery can help the country save $220 million per annum, trebling the country's crude-refining capacity to 4.5 million tonnes from the existing 1.5 million tonnes per year, market-insiders say.

To implement the project the BPC purchased land for the refinery at Tk 2.30 billion from the Ministry of Industries.

"It is sheer negligence from the government high-ups as it could not build a new refinery even over the past 50 years," energy adviser of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam told the FE.

"A vested quarter having nexus with government high-ups has been lingering the project's execution to earn money as commission," he says, in tune with usual quips over import preference.

"Consumers are the ultimate losers," he laments.

Building the oil refinery through competitive bidding will ensure execution of the project in a transparent and accountable manner, says energy-expert Prof M Tamim, who was a special assistant of a previous caretaker government.​

 

[Saif]

Ministry denies claims of gas export to India

The Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has dismissed as a rumour claims on social media that Bangladesh exports natural gas to India via pipelines. In a press release on Thursday, the ministry said no natural gas has ever been exported to India, either under the previous Awami League

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ministry denies claims of gas export to India
FE Online Desk
Published :
Aug 29, 2024 22:41
Updated :
Aug 30, 2024 00:32

The Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has dismissed as a rumour claims on social media that Bangladesh exports natural gas to India via pipelines.

In a press release on Thursday, the ministry said no natural gas has ever been exported to India, either under the previous Awami League government or at any time.

It also rejected as false and misleading the demand to shut down gas lines to India's northeastern states.​

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh cancelled the energy deal with Adani? What's your source?

They did not cancel the deal, but word is rife in Energy ministry, PDB and other high level sources that there will at least be a severe rate revision sought.

Bangladesh has not paid Adani for a while for the power it already supplied to Bangladesh, which logically means there may be something serious (like rate revisions) is in the offing.

I did not predict a cancellation, but situation is not in favor of Adani at present. Adani's FMCG business in Bangladesh may also be affected.