| India has sought gas from Bangladesh to run the proposed 750 megawatt power station in Tripura state as it plans to export electricity from the plant to Dhaka.
Energy and finance ministries officials said yesterday that the Indian government has sought natural gas from Bangladesh's Salda field, near the Indian state of Tripura, to run the proposed power plant, to be set up in joint venture.
The Awami League government has already taken a decision to import electricity from the Indian state through setting up a 750MW capacity gas-fired power station in joint venture.
"New Delhi in its proposal on joint venture power generation has said if Dhaka wants to import more than 23% electricity from the plant, it will have to supply gas from its gas field to the power station," a power division official told newsmen yesterday.
He said if Bangladesh wants to import only 23% (172MW) electricity, it would need not to supply gas.However, the Indian government has said it would export nearly 500MW of electricity from the plant
The Salda gas field and Tripura's Rukhia gas field have a common structure. Bangladesh's state-owned gas exploration company BAPEX is producing nearly 9mn cubic feet gas per day from the Salda field.A sate-run Petrobangla official said: "It is a fresh move by India to import after failing to take gas from Bibiyana in 2002-03."
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