US companies want to invest more in power

A US business delegation has expressed interest in investing more in the power and energy sector of Bangladesh, said Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, yesterday. 

He was addressing a press briefing on holding a meeting with members of a visiting US-Bangladesh Business Council at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.

Hamid earlier said Bangladesh required an investment of $170 billion in the power and energy sector by 2041 for meeting its target of producing 40,000 megawatts of electricity along with ensuring infrastructure development.

Representatives from Excelerate Energy, Blackstone, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Corteva, HSBC and some other US companies joined the meeting.

"The US is the main investor in Bangladesh's energy sector, they have a 70 percent share in the overall foreign investment here," Hamid said, adding that the US companies were looking for future investment opportunities in this country.

Excelerate recently got the nod to build a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Payra of Patuakhali, he said.

"We are going to sign a deal with them to build the FSRU alongside a gas pipeline which will connect the entire western zone of the country," he added.

"The gas will be supplied in all the special economic zones and industries from Rangpur to Khulna, Jessore and Sirajganj from Payra," he said.

"We are building smart grid connections across the country, where we will need more investments. Currently, 80 percent of power plants use US company GE's turbine. The US company Chevron produces around 62 percent of local gas supply," he said.

Mentioning the names of two US companies which expressed keen interest to explore the Bay of Bengal for gas, Nasrul said some companies expressed their interest to work in offshore exploration after completing "product sharing contracts".

"We are conducting the multi-client survey. Once it is complete, we will have data, which will also increase the investment opportunity here," he added.

Atul Keshap, president of US-Bangladesh Business Council, said it was possible to explore the deep sea.

"Due to the global situation, the price of oil and gas is increasing day by day and the US companies are interested in collaborating with the Bangladesh government," he added.