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Textile mills and other factories in Bulta, Gawchia and Araihazar areas of Narayanganj are facing a severe gas crisis, as supply lines have virtually dried up, industry sources said. Most factories recorded zero PSI gas pressure on their meters this morning, forcing production to halt.
According to industry insiders, gas pressure over the last five days had fluctuated between 1 and 5 PSI, allowing limited operations. However, from today (Monday), there has been no gas supply at all.
Officials of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited said the shortage occurred due to maintenance work at a unit of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which disrupted overall gas supply.
Seeking anonymity, an executive director of a textile mill told FE that gas pressure dropped to 0 PSI this morning, forcing all looms to shut down.
“All maintenance activities and some machines are being operated using CNG, REB electricity and solar power, but CNG supply is not sufficient to keep operations running normally,” he said.
Talking to The Financial Express, NZ Group Managing Director Salehudh Zaman Khan Jitu said gas supply had been reduced over the past few days, with pressure remaining irregular between 1 and 5 PSI.
“We were able to manage production with additional support from alternative sources. However, today we failed to run any machines,” he said.
He added that they suspect gas may be bypassed to other users or zones, which could be affecting supply to their industrial area in Bulta.
Meanwhile, Engineer Mohammad Saidul Hasan, General Manager (Operations) of Titas Gas, said the situation arose due to routine maintenance of an FSRU unit over the past few days. He noted that similar conditions prevailed across Titas franchise areas in Mymensingh, Dhaka and Narayanganj districts.
He added that the FSRU resumed operations this morning, expressing hope that gas supply would improve within the next 24 hours.
Mr Hasan also said that against a demand of 1,600 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD), the system is currently receiving only 1,200 MMCFD, leading to the ongoing supply constraints.
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