(Bangladesh) Priority to the fertilizer plants, instead of the power plants: asked to Petrobangla

[phantom power]

Tamim asked Petrobangla to give priority to fertilizer plants as the meeting observed that if there were electricity shortage, Boro cultivation would not be hampered as electricity could be ensured by cutting supply to urban areas, but if there were fertilizer shortage there would be a serious problem as it would take time to import fertilizer. The meeting discussed the gas shortage in the Chittagong belt because of the declining gas production in the offshore Sangu gas-field.

http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/200801291078/business/-priority-to-the-fertilizer-plants-instead-of-the-power-plants-asked-to-petrobangla.html

[GliderGuider]

1. Holy Chittagong, Batman!

From the article:

The production capacity of Sangu... has gradually declined to around 60 million cubic feet per day in recent times from 150 mmcfd in 2006.

That's a loss of 60% in under two years! Everyone in the biz says that gas depletion is much faster than oil depletion because of the lower viscosity of gas, and here's your evidence. They've walked off the cliff in Chittagong.

This brings up more thoughts I've had recently in relation to the future food supply of Africa and South Asia. Declining gas supplies are going to deal a staggering blow to the fertilizer business, both because local gas supplies may dry up and Peak Gas causing a large escalation in gas prices. That will price fertilizer on the world market out of the reach of third world farmers, causing a certain decline in crop yields over the next 10 to 20 years.

Add to that the water crisis: www.ifpri.org/media/water_countries.htm
India and China are both sucking their fossil aquifers dry, and 95% of African agriculture is rain-fed just as climate change comes along to screw up the rainfall patterns.

All while their population is growing.

Paging Mr. Malthus, party of 0...

[phantom power]

2. A strange game, Dr. Malthus.

The only way to win is not to play.

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Did anyone think the West would feel the pain first?

That's a rhetorical question. I've read your monographs. It's all happening, maybe with a little less drama than we anticipated.

Poverty is a silent and lonely fate; and people who die of starvation sleep a lot toward the end. I've watched a few people die of disease-induced starvation, including my grandmother.

Six billion people ... I wonder how long it will take? And if we actually can reverse it, I wonder how long we will drag our feckless feet?

--p!

[patch1234]

4. stop using NG for electricity production, would help a lot

the article implies they have been forced to do
exacatly that, how about planning ahead.

[GliderGuider]

5. And use what, exactly?

They have no hydro (Bangladesh is very flat) and they don't have the technological infrastructure or money for nuclear power. That leaves coal, oil and natural gas. They have insignificant coal reserves. They produce only 6,000 barrels of oil a day. In fact their coal and oil production is so low it doesn't even rate a line in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy spreadsheet, while at least their natural gas production is given. They already use less energy per capita than any other country on Earth. How would planning have helped Bangladesh avoid this crisis?