LPG DESERVES MORE ATTENTION IN GAS-STARVED BANGLADESH

It was in 1997 when Bangladesh first started importing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) amid declining availability of natural gas. Laugfs Gas Bangladesh, a company of Sri Lanka-based multinational Laugfs Holdings, was given the first permit to import and distribute LPG in cylinders to meet the growing demand in energy-starved Bangladesh. Since then, the LPG sector has witnessed an exponential increase in consumption-from 2.5 lakh tonnes in 2009 to the current 1.5 million tonnes a year. The clean-burning fuel has earned popularity for a number of reasons. In rural areas, it has made cooking easy and comfortable by replacing the smoke-causing wood and tree leaves. LPG is environmentally friendly too. The more LPG is used, the greater the saving of trees and woods.

- Farid Hossain

LPG’s growth in Bangladesh is also attributed to the declining supply of natural gas, whose reserves (currently at 8.5 TCF) may be empty next five or six years at the current rate of use unless discoveries are made. In the urban areas, many households with piped gas connections suffer the hazards of low or no pressure during peak cooking hours. This has led many such households to look for alternatives to the LPG cylinders. They depend on both types. And those with no piped gas have no choice but to go for LPG in the urban areas. LPG is also widely consumed in restaurants.