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The gruesome gas-game

ABDUL BAYES
***The final finding in the gruesome gas-game, as espoused by researchers, is corruption. Unless this corruption could be contained, there is no reason why and how gas would help our uplift. The only natural resource should be nurtured with proper care and curiosity. Gas could become an important instrument in alleviating poverty provided institutional arrangements are on the right track. The gas sector should be seen as a milking cow that needs proper feed to provide more milk.***
BANGLADESH is not endowed with natural resources that one can,
possibly, proudly point at. We have a vast population to live on a meagre area of land. The density of population is one of the highest in the world. Besides population, water could be another resource to rescue us from the racks, but for the lack of opportunities of utilising it in a proper manner. Meantime, natural gas has emerged as an important resource to grapple with the groaning poverty. Reportedly, Bangladesh is endowed with natural gas of a respectable size. It is supposed that a proper drilling and distribution mechanism could help us in our development efforts. Already, natural gas is being used in households for cooking purposes -disconcertingly though only 6 per cent of households so far gifted with gas connection -- and by our fertilizer factories, power plants and some manufacturing plants. Empirical evidences emphatically establish that gas could grease our economic growth. In this column before, we have deliberated on some of those aspects.
At the advice of the foreign oil companies, the initial thrust of the government lay on export of gas to India. Ii happened immediately after
the current regime took over power. The Finance Minister and concerned quarters were up on the heels to reap home the dollars from export. But various political parties, including Awami League, opposed the move on the point of low reserves to meet domestic needs. Personally, I believe that this scarce energy resource should be used to fuel domestic commerce and industries and thus fetch foreign exchange. The difference between
wholesale export and domestic utilisation is that the former brings the dollars at the cost of employment and other linkages while the latter helps capturing all opportunities. The recent attempts by TATA group of industries to establish power plants and industries with the help of local natural gas is a pointer to the latter submission of gasgame.
The recent Tengratilla episode of explosion in gas field indicates that our gas fields are not secured and sustainable. Within the span of six months, two such devastations cost huge losses in terms of gas supply and people's misery. We are told that an inexperienced foreign oil company, named Niko, made no positive efforts to see that gas is duly drilled. Relief wells were not dug before to avoid the disaster. Nor Niko is believed to have
stepped into the business in a transparent way. The scandal that cost the job of the State Minister for energy, Mr. Mosharraf Hossain, is believed to span far beyond the gift of a cozy car. The gas sector is a potential source of corruption. KAFCO was provided with a long term agreement of gas supply at a price that, allegedly, went against the interest of the country. The same person was then the powerful pawn in the whole gas-game.
Surprisingly, the same person was selected to see that Bangladesh benefits from gas under his "dynamic" leadership. Perhaps Niko grabbed all facilities to maximise its profit margin. Was that all? One needs to investigate as to how Niko could sail upon the business sacrificing Bangladesh's interests. The fact that the state minister resigned from the cabinet following the scandal perhaps teaches us the lesson that get rich first and then resign! We firmly believe that corruption cannot be contained in this fashion, rather, it could help more corruption to come.
All over the world, foreign oil companies feed politicians to maximise their interests. In some countries, oil companies also help party of their choice to come to power. These companies, allegedly, bribe officials and
politicians to pursue their own gains. Bangladesh seems to be one of those countries where gas companies have been influencing the authorities as far as gas drilling and distribution are concerned. Bangladesh is still a long way to go as far as an appropriate energy policy is concerned. An independent energy commission is yet to function in a transparent manner. It is an irony that the only natural resource base is being left to the
whims of bureaucrats and foreign oil companies.
Petrobangla, the guardian of the gas sector, provides the government with huge revenue every year. If one-fifth of that revenue could be redirected to the sector for its development, we suppose, much of the woes could be won. Where do the revenues go? Certainly, a part goes to meet the expenses of the unproductive sectors including the big size of government. Had the revenues from the gas sector been properly utilised, Bangladesh could reduce its dependence on oil companies to a greater extent.
The revenues that Petrobangla generates are, again, much less than it should have been. Massive corruption creeps into the distribution channel. The system losses, trade unionism to protect the interests of the corrupt
employees and officials are a part of the gruesome gas-game. A simple and subsistence meter reader makes a million out of it! Thus, for both domestic and foreign sources, gas emerged as gruesomely beneficial with little impact on the poor.
A deviation from the traditional tone of gas handling could bring forth immense benefits to the nation and its poverty reduction strategy. Distribution of gas across Jamuna
or to the northern part of the country could encourage establishment of industries, economise on the costs of energy use by households and save deforestation. Massive investments are required to this effect and the government should find ways and means to do that.
The institutional arrangements pertaining to gas supply and distribution should also undergo dramatic changes. The monopoly of the government should be dismantled with space given to the private sector. For example, like toll collections on roads for a stipulated amount of money, the meter reading could be left to a community or private company in exchange of stipulated sums to be deposited to the government. The government could also go for corporatising its agencies with due representations from different segments of the
society. These are just floating ideas on the sea of gas and government could give careful thoughts on them.
We do not want to witness woes of Tengratilla variety any more. Not only that our people are deprived of the access to gas, but also they become victims of the mismanagement of the companies. Just think of their losses during the last explosion just six months before. Were they compensated for? Why should people suffer for the cause they are not a part of?
The final finding in the gruesome gas-game, as espoused by researchers, is corruption. Unless this corruption could be contained, there is no reason why and how gas would help our uplift. The only natural resource should be nurtured with proper care and curiosity. Gas could become an important instrument in alleviating poverty provided institutional arrangements are on the right track. The gas sector should be seen as a milking cow that needs proper feed to provide more milk. The gas prices should also be set in tune with costs of drilling and distribution.
The present pricing policies could be praiseworthy for the rich and the middleclass with access to gas but could be costly in the long run in terms of establishing basic infrastructure for gas distribution and drilling networks. With the advent of substitutes and gas availability in and around us, Bangladesh gas needs to be more competitive through devising appropriate mechanisms. The sooner we realise this, the better it is for the country.
Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.