Archive for June, 2008
Take swift decision on coal mining, gas exploration-Ctg businessmen ask govt
The business people in the port city on Wednesday urged the government to be aggressive in taking decision on coal mining and gas exploration to help rapid industrialisation and accelerate economic growth. Addressing a reception accorded to the newly elected office bearers of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), they also expressed their continued support for sustaining the business-friendly atmosphere the country achieved after January 11, 2007.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) organised the reception ceremony at a local hotel on Wednesday night.
Newly elected FBCCI President Annisul Haque, First Vice-President Abul Kashem Ahmed and Director Amirul Haque were accorded reception at the ceremony presided over by CCCI President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.
BGMEA 1st Vice-President MA Salam, CCCI Senior Vice-President MA Latif, BGMEA leader Khalilur Rahman, former Chittagong City Mayor Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury and DGFI Chittagong Chief Colonel Masud Hossain also spoke on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Annisul Haque said FBCCI would come up with its own agenda within the next 15 days. He added FBCCI would bring out a coal policy from the government within the next six to seven months and make efforts to get at least a BGSL office and a taxpayer’s office in Chittagong within the next six months. The speakers at the ceremony resented that industrialisation was facing a serious setback in Chittagong as the authorities of Bakharabad Gas System Limited (BGSL) stopped giving any new gas connection for industrial use here since September last year.
There was no other option other than going for immediate exploration of coal and gas to overcome the energy crisis that is feared to persist in Chittagong since 2012, observed the speakers. As such, they called for putting an end to the debate on the coal policy and demanded an immediate decision on exploring coal that could meet a large portion of the demand of energy and help rapid industrialisation and accelerate the country’s economic growth.
When India could set up a 4000-MG power plant in Madras using coal from Indonesia, Bangladesh is yet to initiate setting up of such a power plant using its own coal, they said. Bangladesh had one of the finest quality coals with a higher burning rate in the world, they observed. It would not be wise to refrain from extracting coal on the plea of pollution and hold back development, they said.
They advocated for the open-pit method of coal mining saying that the people who might be affected while exploring coal in such method could easily be rehabilitated. The speakers at the ceremony urged the authorities concerned to ensure the benefits of reforms continue at Chittagong port. They also demanded successful implementation of automation system at Chittagong customs house.
They underscored the need for setting up of deep seaport to help the country survive in the global economic race and providing the seven landlocked Indian states transit through Chittagong port.
Add comment June 25, 2008
Coal Casualty
Mollah Amzad Hossain
The rescue team rushed to the spot and recovered Davis in an unconscious state. Davis was taken to Saidpur Combined Military Hospital at around 11:45 am, where doctors declared him dead. As per the law, the body of Davis will be sent to England for autopsy and burial formalities. He came to Bangladesh on April 12. The IMC will now investigate the cause of his death.
State-run oil, gas and mineral corporation Petrobangla, the mother organization of Barapukurial Coal Mine Company Ltd (BCMCL), formed a committee asking it to file a report in this regard within seven days. Petrobangla’s General Manager Muslim Ahmed is head of the committee. Another member of the committee is Petrobangla official Shamsul Alam. Mortoza Ahmed Faruk, Acting GM of Environment and Safety Department of the corporation will act as Member Secretary. The committee visited the mine, talked to officials and workers. They would not comment on the casualty.
However, sources at the BCMCL told the EP that high temperature of water and air at the roadway was responsible for the tragic death of Albert Banes Davis. They said Davis could not be rescued in time as Bangladeshi and Chinese workers did not understand Woodburn’s language. Also, Woodburn lost the way to reach Davis after he could make some people understand that an accident happened.
The sources said that Davis had still sense when Woodburn along with four workers reached him. They said Davis and Woodburn had gone to observe the roadway and roadway of phase 1110 under a recovery plan. The roadway is situated at the depth of 445 meters of the phase 1110. The temperature of air inside the roadway is 39 degree Celsius while of water is 47 degree Celsius. At some places in the roadways accumulated water level reached the waist height. After going down the mine, Woodburn noticed that Davis fell sick.
Quoting a worker who had reached Davis later on, a top BCMCL official told the EP that after Davis fell sick Woodburn soon came out and told some Bangladeshi workers about Davis’s fate. As they did not understand, he tried to inform the Chinese workers. But they also did not understand English. As he repeatedly tried to communicate, some workers understood and they rushed to the spot. In the meantime, the alarm bell was rung up and rescue team along with physicians also reached. The sources said Davis who could not tolerate the high temperature, still had sense. But soon he lost consciousness.
The inquiry team could not talk to a shocked Woodburn as he left Bangladesh after submitting a report to his company IMC. The postmortem of Davis’s body has been carried out. Another autopsy will be conducted in England. Not only Barapukuria in Bangladesh, the underground coalmines across the world are known as deathtraps. Experts said that Barapukuria is fortunate that not mass casualty took place so far although it was developed in a faulty way. Surprisingly, the mine is running without any manual. They apprehend a major disaster anytime like the one took place in March 2007 in Russia or regularly happening in China.
Only a month back, 110 Russian workers along with a British Consultant IMC expert were killed in an accident at a Siberian coalmine. And China, known as major coal mining country, witnesses death of 6,000 workers every year officially. The unofficial figure is estimated at 20,000. With the latest casualty, the Barapukuria, so far, experienced death of nine people. Before the latest tragedy, the underground mine witnessed the death of seven Chinese workers and a Bangladeshi. Mahmudur Rahman, the former Energy Advisor, was also trapped inside the mine. He and his colleagues were fortunate despite being trapped inside.
For its faulty design and method of coal extraction many called Barapukuria the most hazardous work place in Bangladesh. “The air and working condition inside the mine is now very hazardous even for a healthy man. It is so hot and humid that a few hours of stay underground can make you very ill,” said a mining official. He said: The mine is constantly being flooded with water having a temperature of 48 degree Celsius, which we need to pump out round the clock. There are frequent roof collapses, and the ‘mine’s columns’ supporting the roof have developed alignment mismatches.
According to the officials, the hot water phenomenon is new and ‘mysterious’. Mining engineers believe there must be a fault inside the mining area that connects the water bearing rocks with a source of volcanic chamber. The mining experts confirm that as per mine safety rules in Europe and Australia allowable temperature in the underround mines (assuming the proper ventilation air flow is present) is 21-25 degree Celsius. At places, mine temperature up to 29-30 degree Celsius for a very limited time is allowed (maximum 40 minutes). But at Barapukuria the mine temperature has crossed all the acceptable limits with 100% humidity and reached dangerous stage where prolonged staying of the miners may cause death anytime.
The mine has a deposit of about 390 million tons of high quality bituminous coal within 6.68 sq km area, but less than 20 percent of it can be extracted using the underground mining method if handled properly, experts said. Barapukuria project was approved in March 1992 with the target of its completion by July 31, 2001 at a cost of Tk 887 crore. This cost was pushed to more than Tk 1,600 crore but the contractors have failed to hand over a productive and complete mine even six years behind the schedule.
Sources said, with the bloated price tag of over Tk 1,600 crore under Chinese Supplier’s Credit, the mine stumbled due to numerous problems since 1998 because of poor project design and implementation by Chinese company CMC. As a result, the mine’s initial target of producing one million tonnes of coal has now come down to 500,000 tonnes (officially 700,000 tonnes), while the mine remains the country’s most hazardous work place with alarming degradation of local environment.
Barapukuria officials said that the first major disaster took place in 1998 when the mine became flooded with uncontrollable water inrush from the aquifer (groundwater sources). As the CMC could not handle this problem, it relocated the underground mine’s shaft. For the next three years, the mine’s development progressed at snail’s pace.
The mining work resumed half-heartedly after 2001 but on September 30, 2005 it faced another blow when there was an alarming rise of gas in zone-1110. The authorities suspended extraction of coal and evacuated all workers, abandoning mining equipment (one of the two longwall complex which costs approximately 7-8 million US Dollars). On October 5, sensing deadly carbon dioxide and burning methane underground in the mined area, miners sealed off an area of 450 meters by 120 meters. More than one thousands percent presence of Carbon monoxide in the breathing air causes instant death.
Sources said this disaster has happened because the Chinese contractor had left highly inflammable coal pits exposed to air since May 2005 and the mining authorities overlooked the matter. Mining norms dictate that coal pits should not be left exposed to air for more than 24 hours as this can lead to self-combustion of coal and emission of gas. The mine’s work remained totally suspended between October 2006 and April 2007 as the CMC refused to work demanding various payments including one installment of the Supplier’s Credit taken by Bangladesh. This suspension also stopped power generation by the 250 megawatt Barapukuria power plant.
Side by side with resuming mining activities, the BCMCL had asked the CMC to recover the costly mining equipment. As part of it, the mine’s British consultant IMC had brought in ventilation expert Davis. Engineer Muinul Ahsan, a former Director of Petrobangla, said that the state-run corporation does not have proper manpower to look after the environment of the mine. “The consultant of the Petrobangla was to ensure it, but they saw the interest of the contractor instead of us,” he said.
Apart from faulty development of the mine, there are widespread allegations of financial irregularities. According to Petroangla documents and correspondences, it was gathered that the contractor was not to get the payment of sixth installment before completion of the project. But, the Chinese firm got it by creating tremendous pressure on the Petrobangla. As per the contract, the CMC was to develop manpower for running the mine. But it did not do so. So, when the firm handed over Barapukuria to the Petrobangla, the state-run corporation had to assign the CMC again as management contractor.
The contract was that the mine will be developed in a way that the annual production will be one million tons. As the mine was not developed in that way, the target was re-fixed at 700,000 tons. Seven months of this fiscal have gone by now it’s clear that attaining the target will not be possible.
The Barapukuria coalmine was discovered by Geological Survey of Bangladesh in 1985. The British ODA sanctioned US$ 8.0 million for conducting a feasibility study. Wardell Armstrong, a British company carried out the study and submitted its report in 1991. The report said that the reserves of coal in Barapukuria was 303 million tonne. It also said that only 23 to 25 million tonne of coal could be extracted from the mine due to complex geological structure. As open cut mining did not mark present modernization level by that time, the Wardell Armstrong suggested underground mining for Barapukuria. They also recommended to follow Longwall mining method which allowed caving in the mined area as no filling of mine voids were contemplated.
Recently Indian industry giant Tata and several other foreign companies separately expressed interest to take over Barapukuria with Petrobangla as a partner. But, all the companies said that they would go for open pit miming for safety and to secure more production from the mine. A senior official at Petrobangla also said that underground method for Barapukuria was not correct.
Source: http://www.ep-bd.com/archive/22th-issuee_07/index.html
Date: 1-15 May 2007, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
Geologic condition of coal basin & extraction debate
Malek Mukul
When all the rational people of Bangladesh appreciated that coal is the most potential alternative energy source, then govt. couldn’t finalize the coal policy on the debate of extraction method, royalty rate, export provision, environmental hazard, resettlement, rehabilitation and energy security. The energy adviser said on 27 May 2007 in a roundtable on power sector reforms in Bangladesh, organized by the Asian Development Bank that the alternative energy source of this country is coal, so we have to take quick decision about coal extraction otherwise we can’t meet energy crisis. It’s true that if the policy makers make delay to start coal extraction then the candle economy is waiting for the nation.
Many people of our country have said that coal can’t be extracted by open pit mining method from the northern region of the country. On the other hand, we have obtained the bitter experience from the sole underground coal mine of the country at B’pukuria. Actually, geology can guide and help to reach a sound solution of this contradiction.
Geology is such a tool which can inform about the position of mineral resources in the ground. It can also focus the picture of the resources and overlying material those have to penetrate or dig out to reach the resources. In this regard, lets discuses about the stratigraphic setting of northern region of Bangladesh. Bangladesh contains thick sediment up to 20km in the southern part and shallowest 114m in northern part of Bangladesh sequences of Permian to Holocene and major part of the sediment is deposited by the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river systems during Miocene to Holocene time. The coal is overlying by Younger Permian Sandstone in the coal basin of this region. Sequentially, from coal to surface the sediments are:-Coal, Permian Sandstone, Lower Dupi Tila Sand, Lower Dupi Tila Clay, Upper Dupi Tila Sand and Madhupur Clay.
The coal is overlying by thin younger sediments which are deposited by Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river systems. Moreover the Permian Sandstone is moderately fractured and jointed and above this formation the Dupi Tila is known as water bearing zone i.e. aquifer. Therefore, it is clear that the geologic condition of this area do not support the underground mining method. Because, for underground mining, the mine void needs a strong roof rock for support. To support the overburden (volume weight), mine require primary and secondary roof rock which are almost absent in the coal basin. But the only roof rock which is very thin indeed and has moderately low in strength.
Strength is the factor of a rock/material which can protect any applied stress on it. Though the Permian Sandstone has low strength then it couldn’t able to sustain the overburden stress/pressure. Moreover, the thick water bearing zone i.e. Dupi Tila Formation will be more deteriorated for an underground mine in this area. Because water increase volume-weight of a Formation.
Therefore, underground mining will be dangerous one in this area though-
- the coal is located at shallow depth (160-250m)
- almost absence of roof rock
- rocks are moderately fractured and jointed
- thick water bearing zone etc.
Tectonically, the area lies in the Stable Platform or Rangpur Saddle (Indian Platform) which is characterized by many faults. Some of these are pre-Gondwana, while the other faults are formed by later tectonic activities. During the Permo-Carboniferous time the rocks were heavily fracture and block faulted due to crustal shortening, movement and collision of plates. Faulting, fracturing, local or regional upliftment and subsidence have affected the coal basins of this area. Therefore, the underground mine can also be affected by later tectonic activities. Though mining industries are well practiced in artificial roof support in underground mine throughout the world now, but artificial roof support will not adequate in the coal mine of northern region of the country. Because, the coal is located at shallow depth and is overlying by the water bearing zone. Moreover, if later tectonic activities are taken place due to later Himalayan upliftment or orogenic movement then most of the mines in northern region of the country may subside or sudden collapse will be happened.
Apart from this discussion, the poor country like Bangladesh should consider the cost benefit effect before entering in the mining era. From this point of view we should extract our optimum resources. Feasibility of any resources depend on it production cost and production cost is directly reciprocal to the extract percentage. In this regard everyone knows that which method allow optimum extraction. Actually, production cost is one of the important factors to become B’pukuria coal mine as a loss project. Therefore, there should no debate about mining method in coal extraction from the coal basin of northern region of Bangladesh.
It can’t ignore that in open pit mining method there are some impacts on environment and in social life. Such as hydrological & hydro-geological problem, air pollution, land degradation, noise, agricultural disturbance and relocation of people. Geology can also guide how to minimize and could possible to bring in tolerable limit of the environmental hazards. On the other hand, the social impact can be solved providing actual compensation for properties and life. In this regard the govt. should strongly monitor all the mitigation measures and compensation program.
Source: The Weekly Economic Times, 01 July 2007, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
Dewatering in Open Pit Mining: Concern or Benefit?
Zubayer Zaman
Bangladesh has significant amount of good quality bituminous coal resources and has the potential to provide long-term sustainable solution for the alternative energy source, which the country is seeking desperately. So far, five coalfields have been discovered with an estimated reserve of about 2,500-3,000 million tonnes. Only Barapukuria and Phulbari coalfields have confidently estimated the coal reserves of some 1,000 million tonnes reserves for the others are inferred only from limited number of boreholes. Bangladesh entered the mining era relatively recently through development of the Barapukuria underground coalmine. However, coal mining has a very long history and importance in terms of world development. While other coalfields remain at the early exploration stage the Phulbari coal basin has been extensively explored and a scheme of development has been submitted to the Government for Phulbari Coal Project. Based on an extensive analysis of environmental and social issues, depth and thickness of the coal deposit, and the nature of the water bearing aquifer overlying the coal, it was concluded that open pit mining was safest, most reliable and most economic way to extract the coal and to ensure abundant affordable coal for the Bangladesh market.
With the proven gas reserve of the Country being quoted by the Government as being 8.93 TCF, enough for only another 6 years, there is in urgent need to source alternative energy and the proven coal reserve of Phulbari is the only really immediate hope for the country to get access to a new energy source that can be used for significant power generation.
There are debates over mining methods and also a growing concern for groundwater dewatering impacts for open pit mining method as groundwater is required to be extracted extensively during the mining operation. Is this really a problem or rather an opportunity to gain access to good quality water? Are there any mitigation measures? What are the practices in other open pit mines in the world? Are those measures are suitable for our geological conditions?
Groundwater management is a critical issue for the successful operation of any open pit mine. It is a challenge for underground mining also. The water level needs to be lowered as the floor of the mine is dug deeper to maintain dry and safe working condition. Bangladesh should take comfort in the fact that there is plenty of international experience with groundwater management built up from hundreds of open pit mines in the world operating that are successfully managing groundwater under a wide variety of climatic and geologic complexities.
Hydrogeology of the north-western region
The hydro-geological conditions of the coalfields will play an important role in mine planning and design. As shown in the Conceptual Hydrological Model for the Phulbari coal basin, there are three aquifer systems in the regional setting: Upper Dupi Tila sand unit (UDT), sand layers near the base of the Lower Dupi Tila (LDTs) and fractured coal sequence. The Madhupur clay, Lower Dupi Tila clay and the Upper and Lower Gondwana sequence are considered as impervious layers or aquitards. The flow direction in all aquifers is inferred from north to south direction.
Conceptual hydro-geological model for the Phulbari coal basin
Upper Dupi Tila aquifer is the principal aquifer in the region. It is high yielding, porous, very permeable and regionally extensive unconfined to semi-confined aquifer. The aquifer is approximately 100m thick with groundwater levels varying seasonally from 2 to 9m. The UDT is primarily recharged through rivers and streams that have cut through the impervious Madhupur clay which restricts recharge to this aquifer. In fact it is the Madhupur clay that plays host for agriculture and forests and for most of the year water to support these activities comes from direct rainfall and inherent soil moisture and not from the aquifer. The aquifer is routinely tapped to supply clean water supply for households and for irrigation water during the dry season. Although this UDT aquifer will require dewatering for open pit mining, the actual area affected can be restricted to a few kilometers from the mine by injecting some of the water back into the aquifer.
Pumping the groundwater from the aquifer to permit mining actually becomes a benefit for the community because the water is of high quality and could be used for reticulated village and town water supply and piped to nearby farmers for irrigation. At the same time some water could be released to rivers and wetlands to generally improve the environment. Incidentally the water in the Phulbari coal basin area has been tested and key parameters were found to be well within the acceptable limit for drinking water, eg; it has low salinity, neutral pH and low turbidity, and arsenic very low and generally less than the detection limit.
Why mine dewatering?
The groundwater level must be pulled down to create dry conditions in the mining area so that the generally low strength aquifer sequence materials (sands, gravel and clays) can be safely excavated. Mine dewatering is usually undertaken for a variety of geo-technical (material strength considerations), mining and safety reasons:
Geo-technical Issues
• Increased material strength;
• Reduction in seepage forces;
• Decreased hydrostatic pressure;
• Reduce chance of piping failure;
• Increased wall and bench stability;
• Reduced weight of porous rocks; and
• Prevention of liquefaction.
Mine Production Considerations
• Reduced drilling and blasting costs;
• Reduced wear on equipment;
• Reduced haulage costs for unsaturated material;
• Reduced corrosion of equipment; and
• Improved trafficability.
Safety Issues
• Improved road conditions;
• Reduced risk of slope instability during and after excavation; and
• Reduced risk of water inrushes.
Mine dewatering can be achieved by pumping continuously from a ring of dewatering tube wells around the mine and on benches, and installing pumps in special sumps on the mine floor to remove any surface water. This is a well-proven way to maintain dry working conditions, prevent flooding and ensuring the stability of the mine walls and mine haulage road pavements.
Dewatering impacts and mitigation measures
Pumping to lower the groundwater level in an open pit mine in the Bangladesh situation will over the life of the mine produce an abundance of good quality water. If all of this water was simply discharged into rivers and streams, then nearby households and villages would have difficulty accessing water through shallow tube wells for drinking and irrigation. In fact the water pumped from the aquifer is of great benefit for the community and there is a range of well proven mitigation measures that could ensure the area affected by the water level lowering is restricted to a few kilometers from the mine area and that adequate water is delivered through pipes to the town and farming communities.
Aquifer injection to restrict area of water level lowering
Aquifer injection is a well-tested method to limit the area of water level draw-down. This involves injecting water from the dewatering operation into the aquifer at a certain distance (around 5 km) from the mine to hydro-logically isolate the mine dewatering area from the regional aquifer. Experience shows up to 30% of water from the mine dewatering operation can be injected into the aquifer with this system. Certain geological and hydro-geological criteria are required for successful operation of the injection system:
• A really extensive, thick, sedimentary sequence
• The target aquifer preferably overlain by a confining layer; and
• A simple geological structure
The overlying UDT layer of the coal bearing sequence of Bangladesh is much thicker and extensive throughout the region and suitable for such operation.
RWE Mine of Cologne Germany has been successfully using this method for many decades under Germany’s strict environmental rules and regulation, in the same geological and groundwater conditions to Bangladesh. RWE has been conducting its operation for last 50 years and currently produces more than 100 million tones/year of low quality lignite coal, which contributes 30% of Germany’s total power generation. The RWE’s mining experience is a demonstration that the aquifer injection technique can be used successfully in Bangladesh to minimize the impacts of water level lowering. It is known that Asia Energy Corporation has proposed this technique in the Phulbari Coal Project and is planning to involve RWE expertise to assist in its implementation.
Water supply for irrigation and domestic uses and monitoring
Groundwater is the major source of irrigation water during the dry season and a substantial number of shallow tubewells used for irrigation purposes will not be functional within the influence area of dewatering operation. Availability of water must be ensured so that lowering of water layer doesn’t hamper the crop production. There will be an abundance of water from the mine dewatering operation and certain portion of it could be delivered to the farmers by large diameter pipelines and trenches/canal and if required in some areas deep tube wells can be installed to ensure the supply of water. Farmers have been affected by recent increasing fuel cost and shortage of electrical power, both making crop production and life in general difficult. Having a reliable supply of water throughout the year from the mine area will allow farmers to reliably produce three crops a year and will thus both increase crop production and reduce the production cost.
Groundwater is also the primary source of drinking water to the rural villages and township and safe drinking water must be ensured to the affected households. A reticulated water supply system could be developed to supply a portion of water from the mine dewatering operation to the affected households. Deep tube wells can be installed in isolated villages far off from the mine operation area to source water for reticulated water supply system. This will improve the water supply quality to the affected rural households.
Water may also need to discharge to surrounding water bodies from the dewatering operation to maintain current seasonal water levels and quality. Any surface water pumped from the floor of the mine must be treated to ensure it meets national water quality standards before releasing to the neighboring environment. A comprehensive monitoring system could be developed to monitor the impacts of dewatering, aquifer injection performance, water chemistry etc and appropriate mitigation measures to be implemented to rectify the impacts.
Bangladesh desperately needs alternative energy source and coal is the only source to meet the long-term energy demand of the country. But maximum extraction of this valuable resource must be ensured and Barapukuria experience suggests that underground method is not viable option for the coal deposits in this country. Open pit mining can ensure >90% extraction of the coal resource and impacts related to this type of operation can be mitigated using well-tested internationally practiced mitigation measures. To eliminate the concern of the people, an independent monitoring system can be developed with data reviewed by some of Bangladesh’s renowned hydro-geologists to ensure the impacts of water level lowering are being managed and the benefits of the abundant water supply are being delivered.
Source: http://www.ep-bd.com/archive/2nd-issue_07/index.html
Date: 1-15 July 2007, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
Sustainable Energy & Environment in Bangladesh
Malek Mukul: Now a days, energy becomes a burning issue in Bangladesh. Actually, nobody can understand the importance of any common issue without facing crisis of it. Now it needs not to inform anyone about power crisis and everyone realize that energy can affects all aspects of development i.e. social, economic and environmental including livelihoods, access to water supply, agricultural activities etc. of a country. No development can be met without improvement in quality & quantity of energy facilities in any developed or developing countries.
We know that the United States has the world largest economy & has about 6% of world’s population, but consumes more than 30% of world’s energy. India, on the other hand, has 15% of world population and consumes 1% of world’s energy. So, there is no debate that energy is the key for sustainable development of a nation. Therefore, a tremendous improvement in energy sector is mandatory for overall development of the country. Without energy, the country will become a car without wheels.
Literally, energy can be defined as the ability to do work. Without energy none can do a little. That’s why energy is closely related with development. Bangladesh still remains as an agrarian country. But its cultivable land is decreasing gradually because of its fast population growth. Average 220 ha of agricultural land is going to non-agricultural use everyday. Due to its fast population growth the land is used for urban development, industrialization, roads & high way construction. Therefore, there is no other choice to shift from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. Consequently, to be a country of industrial economy, power generation has to be increased taken as the top priority compared to other important developments of the country.
Bangladesh is the most densely populated agricultural country in the world and falls among the lowest per capita energy users. However, the demand for energy in the country is already growing at a rate of 10% annually and how the demand will be met is influenced by govt. policies. It is not that the country is not able to meet the energy demand. There are large reserves of natural gas & coal in the country. But due to mismanagement and lack of policy, the resources couldn’t use properly. There is constrained to make policy due to environmental barriers. But we should remember that the technology has modernized and could help us to overcome the environmental barriers. Let’s discuss for sustainable energy & environment in Bangladesh.
Energy
There are two types of energy-potential & kinetic and some different forms. As we know ‘energy can’t be lost’, it being transform from one to another. All forms of energy are stored in different ways in the energy sources that we use everyday. These resources are also divided into two groups-Renewable energy sources (an energy source that can be replenished in a short period of time) solar energy, wind, geothermal energy, biomass from plant, hydropower & ocean energy and Non-renewable energy sources (an energy source that we are using up and cannot recreate in short period of time) oil, natural gas & coal; they’re also called fossil fuel. Another nonrenewable energy source is the element; Uranium, whose atoms split through a process called nuclear fission to create heat and ultimately electricity.
All the renewable and nonrenewable energy sources can be used to produce secondary energy source i.e. electricity which we use & is the pre-requisite for our national development.
There is least opportunity to boost our energy sector by renewable energy sources. Because the solar energy is still expensive, the strength of wind varies seasonally, lack of geothermal energy in the country, biomass is harmful for environment and there are little suitable places in the country to set up hydro-plant etc. Therefore, we have to use our reserve nonrenewable energy sources to boost the improvement of the country’s energy sector.
Among the nonrenewable energy sources in the country maximum (most of all) electricity is generated using natural gas. But recently, it is predicted that the natural gas could met demand of energy of the country up to 2012 if no new gas field will discover. But still the country steps far from use of discovered coal reserve. There are five discovered coal basins which cumulatively reserve is about 2.7 billion tonnes equivalent to about 53 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of natural gas. So, this is the one and only energy source which can contribute country’s sustainable energy demand. Therefore, without any hesitation the govt. should take initiatives to start coal extraction immediately and should use the coal resources to generate power for sustainable industrial development of the country.
The energy demand of the country is growing at a rate of 10% per year. In this growing demand, the country will need 9,000-10,000MW of power by 2013 when the natural gas will be finished. Then for sustainable supply of power in the country, we may completely depend on coal as an energy source. In this situation we can make a simple & rough calculation that approximately how much coal will be required to generate 9,000-10,000MW power. If we consider, whole power will be generated using coal, then…
|
Electricity (MW) |
Required coal for electricity generation in the year of 2013 |
||||
|
Per day (tonnes) |
Per Month |
Per Year |
|||
|
(tonnes) |
Million tonnes (Mt) |
(tonnes) |
Million tonnes (Mt) |
||
|
250 |
2500 |
75000 |
0.075 |
900000 |
0.9 |
|
1000 |
10000 |
300000 |
0.3 |
3600000 |
3.6 |
|
2000 |
20000 |
600000 |
0.6 |
7200000 |
7.2 |
|
3000 |
30000 |
900000 |
0.9 |
10800000 |
10.8 |
|
4000 |
40000 |
1200000 |
1.2 |
14400000 |
14.4 |
|
5000 |
50000 |
1500000 |
1.5 |
18000000 |
18 |
|
6000 |
60000 |
1800000 |
1.8 |
21600000 |
21.6 |
|
7000 |
70000 |
2100000 |
2.1 |
25200000 |
25.2 |
|
8000 |
80000 |
2400000 |
2.4 |
28800000 |
28.8 |
|
9000 |
90000 |
2700000 |
2.7 |
32400000 |
32.4 |
|
10000 |
100000 |
3000000 |
3 |
36000000 |
36 |
About 36 Mt of coal will be required to generate 10,000MW of coal in 2013. But depending on the quality of coal it may varies. If we assume that 0.7 Mt of coal needs to generate 250MW power per year then it will be about 28 Mt. It can also said that about 14-18 Mt of coal will be required per year if produce half of the total demand of energy in the country. Then we should start development of coal basin from just now so that coal can be produced by 2012. But there is environmental constrained to develop coal basin and global energy system has to faces many challenges in this century. Though the world has already entered in the coal era many years ago, the environmental laws & modern technologies have greatly reduced coal’s impact on the environment.
Environment
Coal, like all other sources of energy has a number of environmental impacts, from both coal mining and coal use. Without proper care, mining can destroy land and pollute water & air. Coal mining-particularly surface mining requires large areas of land to be temporarily disturbed. This can also raises a number of environmental challenges including soil erosion, dust, noise & impacts on local biodiversity and above all rehabilitation. But mining is only a temporary use of land and is not a big problem now, because steps are taken in modern mining operation to minimize all these impacts. Today, restoring the land damaged by surface mining is an important part of mining operation. Because mining activities often come into contact with water resources, for which coal producers must go to great efforts to prevent damage to ground and surface water.
The water pollution can prevent installing a water treatment plant where pollute water is first dosed with lime to neutralize the acid and then passed through setting tanks to remove sediment and particulate metals. Dust levels can be controlled by spraying water continuously on road, stockpiles and conveyors. Other steps can also be taken, including fitting drills with dust collection systems and purchasing additional land surrounding the mine to act as a buffer zone. Reclamation is another important activity for surface mining. Mine reclamation is undertaken gradually-with shaping and contouring of spoil piles, replacement of topsoil, seeding with grasses and planting of trees on the mined out areas. So technological innovation can allow to meet the demand of coal without an unacceptable environmental impact. The wider deployments of clean coal technologies have a significant impact on environmental performance of coal in both developed and developing countries.
The use of coal whether to generate power or use in steel or in any other manufacturing industries creates some environmental hazards. The primary environmental issues relating to the use of coal are:-particulate emissions, trace elements, oxides of nitrogen & sulfur, waste/by-product and CO2. The modern technologies could reduce most of all impacts on environment and most of the technologies are developed many years ago, commercialized and widely applied in many developed countries. All these technologies are well practiced through-out the world including USA, Australia, Germany, South Africa etc. The technological responses are:-
· Electrostatic precipitators and fabric filters control particulate emissions from coal-fired power stations. Both have removal efficiencies of over 99.5%
· Particulate control devices, fluidized bed combustion, activated carbon injection and desulphurization equipment can all significantly reduce trace element emissions.
· Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions can be cut by the use of specialized burners, advanced combustion methods, catalysts and ’selective non-catalytic reduction’. Over 90% of NOx emissions can be removed using existing techniques.
· Technologies are available to minimize oxides of sulfur (SOx) emissions by removing the gas from the waste stream or by using advanced power generation methods. Emissions can be reduced by over 90%.
· Waste can be minimized before (by coal cleaning) and during (using high efficiency systems) coal combustion. Residual waste can be reprocessed into construction materials.
· In the short to medium term, substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be made by increasing the efficiency of coal-fired generation.
· Near zero emissions technologies enable the separation and capture of CO2 from coal-fired power generation for permanent and safe storage underground.
In Bangladesh, after natural gas, coal will continue to play a vital role in electricity generation. The discovered reserve of coal in the country is about 2.7 billion tonnes equivalent approximately 53 TCF natural gas which able to provide secure and reliable supplies of affordable energy to boost the country’s sustainable development and to shift the country from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. The clean coal technologies have already achieved major advances in environmental performance and new technologies are under development towards a ‘zero emission’ future.
Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has allowed Bangladesh to set up nuclear reactor for power generation. It is good as well as very danger news for Bangladesh. Because it’s a big challenge for Bangladesh to invest in such type of risky sector, its require billions of dollar to set up a nuclear reactor and also require experienced work forces to operate & maintenance which is limited in this country. Moreover, as a densely populated country, a nuclear accident will be a catastrophe of epic proportions in Bangladesh.
Therefore, it is suitable for Bangladesh to extract its coal resources immediately and use in power generation so that the country could meet the energy demand and boost its industrial development. Because, for sustainable development, a nation need continuous/smooth supply of energy through-out the country. And Bangladesh can easily go for the development of coal basins under blessing of modern technologies in mining sector.
Source : The Weekly Economic Times, 29 July 2007
Add comment June 25, 2008
Royalty Debate of Coal & Foreign Investment
Zubayer Zaman
The potential for coal sector development of the country has become the topic of discussion once the declaration of 572 million tones of coal discovery in the Phulbari Coal Basin was made. Thanks to Phulbari Coal Project – as it has initiated many debates. Surely we need to unlock our coal resources and guide our country to a new era of economic development. One of the contentious issues now – whether positive or negative – is the much talked about subject of `Royalty’ for coal mining.
The Mines and Minerals Rules, 1968 (amended up to 2004) sets the royalty rate for numerous minerals and coal, and defines how it is to be calculated and when it is to be paid. The coal royalty is set at 6% for open pit mining and 5% for underground mining. Some consider this rate is too low and it is against the interest of the country. But they fail to suggest the ‘ideal royalty rate’ that would protect the national interest and will match with the international mine financing practices.
Some people are trying to give explanation of royalty stating that- 6% royalty rate means that government and people of Bangladesh will get only 6% share and the remaining 94% or the coal project earning will go into the investor’s pocket. Maybe there is some gap in understanding the royalty issue. Maybe it is a deliberate attempt to try to circulate wrong information/explanation on mineral royalty to create a negative impression about coal mining with foreign investment. Simple fact is that the royalty can’t be viewed in isolation of other earnings from mining and it has to be seen as part of an overall benefit package.
In the recent past there was an attempt in the debate by illustrating the royalty exercise as a violation of country’s constitution. As stated allowing the mining rights to the foreign company with royalty provision would compromise ownership of the property rights of the country.
The reasons for confusion in the royalty debate possibly is linked with some kind parallel drawn with “production sharing contract” arrangement, ie; only 6% share for the government and 94% for the investor. Under production sharing contract arrangements such as in place for the gas sector in Bangladesh, companies get the benefit of full capital and operating cost recovery and pay no taxes (either corporate or personnel income tax), royalties or duties. The Bangladesh Government typically gets about a 50:50 share of the gas produced after the cost recovery.
On the otherhand, mining in Bangladesh is not covered by production sharing contract arrangements. Those involved in mining are expected to pay corporate tax (currently 40%), income tax for personnel, VAT, duties, royalties, and other government service charges. To enable some off-setting of the large capital development costs the government through its Board of Investment (BoI) offers a range of fiscal incentives for investors. There is no provision for any cost recovery for exploration and mining industry including for coal and the full financial risk is taken by the investor.
All of these debates, mostly with negative approach, in a view to mislead people deserve some explanation: what does royalty mean? Does royalty of coal in Bangladesh is too low? What is the royalty rate in other coal producing countries?
Royalty is a form of tax, special to mine. The intent of the tax is to charge the producer of the mineral for the right to mine the minerals produced. There are different types of royalty that have been practiced in the world mining industry: unit based royalty, value based royalty or ad valorem royalty, profit based or income based royalty etc.
Unit based and value based royalty both are payable irrespective of whether the mine is making a profit or losing money. However, value based royalty fluctuate following commodity prices. Thus when prices are high, the government will enjoy more revenue than the prices are low. Some nations have moved away entirely from assessing royalty and rely instead only on the general corporate and income tax revenue streams, eg; Greenland, Mexico, Sweden and Zimbabwe do not impose a royalty.
All types of royalty have associated advantages and limitations but whatever the types and rate; royalty is a well practiced mechanism of tax collection in world coal producing nations. The provision of royalty rate for coal in Mines and Minerals Rules, 1968 of Bangladesh is in line with the world’s practices and at 6% is not at all a low rate. Though the royalty rate was only Rs. 2.50 per tonne in the Mines and Minerals of 1968, and for unknown reasons it increased to 20% in 1989. It had no applicability and was amended in 1995 to 6% reviewing royalty rates of different countries through a high level committee to make it realistic with the world’s perspective and to attract foreign investment in this investment intensive sector. Later two amendments of Mines and Minerals Rules in 1999 and 2004 also kept that royalty rate.
Different countries practice different royalty rates but the difference is not significant and is within the range of 1-8%. It is true that Indonesia has the highest royalty rate (13.5%, as per amended laws of 1996) in the world but Indonesian coal is at relatively shallower depth (in some instances at the surface and exposed in water courses), of good quality and moreover easy to transport to the international market directly by sea going large vessels. On the other hand, though the coal resources of Bangladesh (Barapukuria, Phulbari, Dighipara) is of good quality and is within reach of open pit mining operation, a considerable amount of overburden must be removed before first coal is achieved which involves large continuous operating costs and large capital injection. Moreover transportation of coal to international market involves huge investment for infrastructural development including rail network up gradation, building coal terminal in Khulna, deep sea cargo facility, dredging of outer sand bar to maintain the navigability of the channel etc. Compensation, resettlement, rehabilitation and related cost will also be higher as population density is relatively high comparing to other countries.
The world is very much open now and anyone can browse internet to get the latest information about coal royalty in different countries of the world. Here is some information about royalty rates and taxes in different countries of the world:
| Country | Royalty Rate (%) | Corporate Tax Rate (%) | Customs (%) |
| China | 0.5-4 | 30 | 0 |
| Indonesia | Up to 13.5 | 30 | 0 |
| Laos | 2.5 | 20-33 | 0 |
| Malaysia | 5 | 34 | - |
| Mongolia | 2.5 | 40 | 0-5 |
| Vietnam | 1-8 | 25 | 0 |
| Peru | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Australia | 2.5-7.5 | 30 | 5 |
| Brazil | 3 | 30 | - |
| Chili | 0 | 35 | - |
| Pakistan | 1 | 35 | 5 |
| Ghana | 3-12 | - | - |
| Uzbekistan | 5.4 | - | - |
India, the 3rd largest coal producing country in the world had the royalty rate variable with state to state from Rs. 65 to Rs. 250 per tonne depending on the grade and coal fields. Recently on 01 August 2007 India reviewed its royalty rate and introduced a new formula for royalty calculation (coal with similar heating value of Bangladesh Coal requires to pay approximately Rs.102-Rs.133 per tonne royalty depending on coal fields). With that new provisions of the regulations, the royalty rate of coal will be subject to coal quality variations and dependant on coal fields and their locations. It may be mentioned that the increased royalty rate in India will not be applicable for West Bengal coal mines.
The Coal Policy Review Committee shows its dilemma while fixing the royalty rate. The last few weeks discussions were mostly concentrated on royalty rate. The committee is still to come to a conclusion. From the media reports it reveals that some of the committee members are in favour of increasing the royalty rate as high as 30% ignoring the commercial reality; others favour for keeping the existing royalty rate unchanged or bring it down. The Managing Director of the country’s sole underground coal mine strongly opposed the idea of increasing the royalty rate. He expressed this view to coal policy review committee that Barapukuria coal mine has been facing trouble with the existing 5% royalty rate and economic existence of the mine will be in danger if the rate is increased further.
As an operator of the mine with practical experience the MD of Barapukuria mine has realized the economic reality. Increasing royalty doesn’t ensure more profit for the Government. It will automatically increase the production cost of coal which obviously will increase power generation and other costs and ultimate sufferer will be the consumers. Higher coal price will encourage other users to go for import of inferior quality coal from neighboring country. These inferior quality imported coal mostly used in the brick kilns cause serious environmental pollution.
Coal mining is a capital intensive sector (more so than oil and gas)of investment and Bangladesh does not have technology, trained manpower and financial capability to develop the sector alone. Bangladesh just can’t compare its coal sector with Indian coal mining industry and introduce what they are practicing now for the development of this sector. We must take into consideration that Indian coal mining history which is more than 200 years old and has established huge infrastructural facilities and skilled manpower. On the other hand the coal sector in Bangladesh is in its very early “pioneering” stage and needs to be nurtured properly. The coal policy should be such that will create an investment friendly environment, a win-win situation for the investor and the government and people of Bangladesh. The adoption of a pragmatic coal policy will attract the investors to develop the coal sector protecting the national interest ensuring capacity building of local human resource and expertise.
Source: http://www.ep-bd.com/archive/13th-issue_07/index.html
Date: 16-31 December 2007, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
Bitter Coal Business or Benefit from Coal
Farid Hossain
As the saying goes, however hard you try you can’t clean coal. One thing, however, is certain: you can burn coal to make energy. Or you can burn it for nothing _ may be just for pleasure. According to experts Bangladesh is supposed to have a solid reserve of coal to the north of the country. There is a strong debate whether we should extract the coal and burn it for electricity. Or better to leave it where it is for the generations that will follow us. One school of thought is for extraction of the coal to make electricity that the country so badly needs for industrialization and to reach power to as many homes as possible. This group argues if we want electricity to reach every home or at least majority of homes then we must produce more electricity. If Bangladesh wants to raise its annual economic growth to 7 percent, it will need to add at least 2,000 MW of electricity to the national grid every year. Where the electricity is going to come? We can get electricity from natural gas. In fact we are already making electricity from gas. But gas has a limit. Officials say Bangladesh’s natural gas reserve is depleting fast and the country will face a serious crisis by 2011 unless we prospect more gas fields.
This group has opponents. They insist that extraction of coal will take Bangladesh to development. Neither it will benefit the people of Bangladesh. The extraction of coal either at Barapukuria or at Phulbari will benefit only the foreign companies and a handful of local agents. It is better to keep the reserve untouched. This group further argues that extraction of coal will displace thousands of people from their ancestral land and damage agricultural land as well as the environment. Residents of Phulbari have already demonstrated what local resistance can do. They did not hesitate to die for a cause they think is good for them.
People who will be affected by coal mining seem to be helpless as the controversy rages.
At a recent roundtable on the development of coal, organized by Energy and Power magazine and the UNDP, four representatives from Birampur and Dinajpur spoke out. They said they were not opposed to coal mining if that brings benefit to the local people. Villagers who will be affected by the coal mining must be consulted before the government makes any deal with a foreign company. Unfortunately, the government does not always take the locals into confidence before making deals with companies _ foreign or local. That explains why Phulbari exploded into protests that forced Asia Energy to leave the area. The company has since then been waiting for a return to the area. It is uncertain how soon it will be able to get the deal.
Coal is already being extracted at Barapukuria. There is already a coal-fired power plant at the coal mining field, operated by state-run Petrobangla. But its performance has been slow and poor. Also the project had been hit by controversy from the start. The original cost doubled allegedly for corruption. Barapukuria has become a subject of corruption case involving former PM Khaleda Zia and 15 others, including 10 former ministers.
This shows that our experience in coal business has so far been bitter. Such corruption allegations are helping the anti-mining lobby. If the extraction of natural resources benefit only a handful of people _ not the majority of the people _ it is better then to keep them untouched. Resources are not unlimited. There will always come a time when we will run short of the resources no matter how plenty these are. A big problem is: who will give us electricity if we don’t explore for gas and coal and use them.
Source: http://www.ep-bd.com/archive/18th-issuee_08/index.html
Date: 1-15 March 2008, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
Coal Now the Best Option
EP Desk
Bangladesh should go for extraction of coal ensuring highest degree of environmental safety as well as paying attention to the interest of the local people who are affected in the mining process. Speakers came up with the observations at the inaugural session of the Training Workshop for members of the North-Bengal Mineral Resources Reporters Forum organized by Weekly Economic Times at Press Institute of Bangladesh recently. The two-day workshop was participated by 51 newsman of the northern region. The speakers said that coal is the best option now for generation of electricity not only for the northern region but also for the country as gas is likely to scarce in the days ahead.
Inaugurating the workshop, Prof M Tamim, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Energy Ministry, said the country needs to secure the sources of its energy as well as diversify those right now because it will be of no use sitting on heaps of money if we are unable to find energy in the future. Ataus Samad, Advisory Editor, Amar Desh and Member Coal Policy Advisory Committee, Kamrul Islam Siddique, Chairman, World Water Forum, Engr. Mainul Ahsan, former Director Petrobangla, Kr. Kamruzzaman, Assistant Professor of Geology of Rajshahi University, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor, The Bangladesh Observer and former President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Shaukat Mahmood, Editor, Weekly Economic Times and President, National Press Club and Mollah Amzad Hossain, Editor, Energy & Power and Chairman of Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh, among others, addressed the inaugural session of the workshop focusing on the development of the northern region.
The two day training workshop ended with a call for extracting coal immediately for the highest benefit of the nation. In the concluding session, the participants opined freely at the quires & questions event, and the guests responded making clear everything. The working journalists focused on the problems faced by the local people and also the reluctance of the authority to pay heed to the grievances. They fervently appealed to the concerned authority to come forward and solve the problems including the rehabilitation of the evicted villagers in and around the mining areas.
Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmad attended the concluding session as chief guest. He said coal could play a pivotal role in energy sector to meet the ever-increasing demand of the nation. To meet this demand, extraction of coal is a must as coal can be used as a fuel to generate power in the country. He assured the mineral reporters to extend his cooperation in arranging training sessions so that they can play their due role in creating awareness among the local people side by side the bridging up the relations between government and the people.
Citing the sweet memories achieved in his official duties performed in northern areas, the Chairman said he assumes a lot of natural and mineral resources are available in that area. If any extraction done there, he would feel proud. Seeing a host of reporters hailed form those areas, he said that reporting on mineral resources in an important task now.
News Today Editor Reaz Uddin Ahamed said the initiative for the mineral reporters’ professional development taken by the Economic Times is really praise worthy, this type of initiative should be taken more, he hoped. PeoplTel Managing Director Major TIM Nurunnabi (Retd) said his organization would arrange a package program in which professional training and ways of earning should be included. He would take initiatives in this regard soon.
BFUJ Secretary General Ruhul Amin Gazi said the journalists working in Muffassils should get their due shares inscribed in the latest Wage Board. He assured to ensure their just demands. In his presidential speech, Editor of the weekly Economic Times & the President of National Press Club, Shaukat Mahmood said nation can’t be enriched if coal could not be extracted in just time. Debate on this point should be stopped for the sake of national interest. He called upon the mineral resources reporters to utilize their knowledge and experiences acquired from the two-day training workshop in their professional performances.
North Bengal Mineral Resources Reporters Forum President Morshed Manik thanked Shaukat Mahmood for arranging a nicer event like two-day training workshop on mineral reporting. Later the Chief guest distributed the certificates among the reporters on mineral resources who participated in the workshop.
Source: http://www.ep-bd.com/archive/18th-issuee_08/index.html
Date: 1-15 March 2008, Bangladesh
Add comment June 25, 2008
