Prime Minister Tarique Rahman squarely blames the previous government for keeping "paralysed" Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) that contributed to Bangladesh's prolonged energy crisis and dependence on imports.
He informed parliament Wednesday that his government is now implementing a multidimensional and coordinated master plan to overcome the crisis and move Bangladesh towards energy self-sufficiency and a sustainable energy system.
Tarique made the remarks while responding to oral questions from lawmakers during the parliament session on Wednesday afternoon--in the wake of nagging power and gas crises across the country.
He outlined government's roadmap for strengthening the country's energy security, expanding renewable energy and transforming Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.
He said, "A number of landmark initiatives are being implemented to permanently address the energy crisis caused by years of inadequate exploration and excessive dependence on imports, while advancing the country towards a self-reliant and sustainable energy system."
Responding to a question from lawmaker Selina Sultana, the Prime Minister said increasing domestic gas production has been given the highest priority to meet the country's energy deficit.
Under a programme to drill 150 wells and carry out workovers on 30 wells, the drilling of 30 wells has already been successfully completed, adding 140 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of new gas to the national grid, he said.
Drilling seven more wells is currently under way, and their completion is expected to add another 85MMCFD gas to the national grid.
"New projects are also being undertaken to drill the remaining wells in phases."
At the same time, the government is implementing a major exploration programme involving 4,500 line kilometres of 2D seismic surveys and 4,200 square kilometres of 3D seismic surveys to intensify the search for new gas reserves.
The process of procuring two modern drilling rigs is also at the final stage as part of efforts to strengthen BAPEX and enhance its technical and operational capacity, the Prime Minister told the lawmakers.
He said extensive exploration activities were being carried out under offshore and onshore Model Production-Sharing Contracts (PSCs) to ensure long-term energy security.
Following approval for the PSC 2026, an international bidding round has already been invited, while the approval process for the onshore Model PSC is also nearing completion.
"The discovery of new gas fields through these initiatives would significantly strengthen the country's economic stability," he said on an upbeat note about a breakthrough.
Meanwhile, discussions are under way with interested international companies to establish a new floating LNG terminal at Kutubjom in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, as part of efforts to expand the country's maritime LNG infrastructure.
The terminal is expected to begin supplying regasified LNG by December 2028, potentially increasing the country's LNG-import capacity by another 600MMCFD within the next two years.
The government is also examining the feasibility of urgently establishing one or two additional floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) in the southwestern region or around Payra and Mongla ports, he said in a massive energy-plan rollout.
Details of the government initiatives to expand renewable energy emerged in response to a question from lawmaker Nilofer Chowdhury Moni.
The Prime Minister said the government had taken what he described as a historic step to encourage public interest and accelerate the development of renewable energy sector.
Through a gazette notification issued on June 8, 2026, the government waived all duties and taxes on solar panels, inverters, batteries and other necessary components, including customs duty, regulatory duty, supplementary duty, advance tax and additional advance income tax.
The government has also announced an attractive financial model for rooftop solar-power suppliers.
Under the scheme, the government will purchase surplus electricity generated by households and institutions that install rooftop solar systems within the next six months at Tk10.15 per unit.
Given that the current average generation cost is Tk6-7 per unit, the bulk purchase rate and government incentives will allow entrepreneurs to earn up to 45 per cent in net returns-comprising 40-percent profit and a 5.0-percent premium-for the subsequent three years, the Prime Minister said.
As part of the renewable energy-expansion programme, the government has also launched a national rooftop solar initiative to install solar panels on government buildings, educational institutions and hospitals.
Rooftop solar systems have already been successfully installed at the offices of all deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners across the country, while special allocations have been made to implement the programme at other government offices.
Alongside solar power, the government is pursuing an integrated plan to generate electricity from wind, hydropower and waste, the Prime Minister said.
He said the multipronged initiatives were aimed not only at addressing the immediate energy shortage but also at building a more diversified, resilient and sustainable energy system for Bangladesh.
