1. Overview
The total energy supply (TES) to the country was 46,258 ktoe while the final energy consumption (FEC) was 32,959 ktoe. Non-energy consumption was 1,320 ktoe, and the statistical difference was 1,703 ktoe. Transformation loss, energy industry own use, with the transmission and distribution loss altogether accounted for 10,276 ktoe. Bangladesh’s FEC / TES ratio for FY 2015-16 is 0.71.
Bangladesh’s national energy balance structure can be categorised by (i) dominance of its indigenous natural gas, (ii) significant importance of biofuel, and (iii) large dependency on captive power generation (auto producers). These characteristics of the national energy balance structure of Bangladesh can be visualised in the form of the energy balance table figure as shown below:
2. Total Energy Supply (TES)
The total energy supply of 46,258 ktoe is composed of 23,094 ktoe of natural gas, and 13,300 ktoe of biofuel as the major energy products. The biofuel is the fuelwood mostly supplied to residential sector for cooking and heating purposes, where city gas is not made available. Domestic production of energy which comprises 37,663 ktoe is also mostly composed of natural gas and biofuel. Import is 9,100 ktoe among which 5,546 ktoe is petroleum products, 1,902 ktoe is coal, 1,323 ktoe is crude oil, and 329 ktoe is electricity import.
Self sufficiency rate (domestic production / total energy supply) of energy supply of Bangladesh is 81%. If biofuel is excluded then the rate becomes 74%.
3. Transformation and Losses
Three major energy transformation means in Bangladesh are thermal electric power generation, captive power generation, and oil refinery. Each transformation deliver 4,077 ktoe, 1,336 ktoe, and 1,026 ktoe, respectively. Although smaller in scale, there are indigenous condensate and natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation plants which produce 123 ktoe of petroleum products.
Overall transformation efficiency of thermal electric power generation (gross) is calculated as approximately 37%. Considering the public power plants’ own use which is reported as 98 ktoe, and the national grid’s transmission & distribution loss which amounts to 227 ktoe, the overall efficiency of generation, transmission, and distribution of the grid electricity becomes approximately 34%. Similarly, the transformation efficiency of oil refinery and fractionation plants combined is approximately 66%. Captive power generation efficiency is assumed to be 35%. In overall, all the losses reported add up to 10,276 ktoe.
4. Final Energy Consumption (FEC) by Energy Product
Biofuel (fuelwood), comprising 40% of the final energy consumption (FEC) is the largest energy product being consumed in Bangladesh. It amounts to 13,300 ktoe. When excluding biofuel from the analysis, natural gas becomes the largest composition of final energy consumption (8,396 ktoe), followed by electricity of 5,232 ktoe. Petroleum product final consumption is 3,914 ktoe, while coal final consumption is 2,117 ktoe.
5. Final Energy Consumption (FEC) by Sector
Sectoral breakdown of Bangladesh’s final energy consumption (FEC) of 32,959 ktoe is as shown in the chart below. As the largest energy consuming sector, 18,965 ktoe is consumed in residential sector. Entire biofuel is being consumed by the sector. When biofuel is excluded, Industry sector becomes the top energy consuming sector with 8,793 ktoe being consumed, followed by residential sector consuming 5,665 (=18,965-13,300) ktoe. Transport sector consumes 3,588 ktoe, followed by 946 ktoe consumption by agriculture sector. Commercial and public service sector sector energy consumption is still limited to 667 ktoe.
6. Primary Energy Basis Final Energy Consumption
For the final consumption of 1 toe equivalent (=11.63 MWh) of electricity, there is a need for an input of 2.94 toe (=32.31 MWh) equivalent of primary energy. This is because the overall electricity transformation efficiency was calculated to be approximately 36% (including grid and captive). Similarly, the final consumption of 1 toe equivalent of petroleum product requires 1.52 toe of primary energy input, because the overall transformation efficiency of petroleum product was calculated as 66%. Such measurement of primary energy required for the final consumption is hereby termed as the “final energy consumption on primary energy basis” or “primary energy basis final energy consumption.
Primary energy basis final energy consumption enables the fair comparison between the energy utilised in the various forms of energy products, from the viewpoint of energy supply to the country. It is therefore necessary to observe the final energy consumption on primary energy basis when analysing the final energy consumption data from national perspective.
Primary energy basis final energy consumption for natural gas, coal, and biofuel are deemed to be same as the final energy consumption as sufficient data on the transformation and distribution efficiency could not be obtained.
The final energy consumption, which was calculated as 32,959 ktoe becomes 43,009 ktoe on primary energy basis. Electricity comprises 34% of the total at 14,687 ktoe, followed by 13,300 ktoe of biofuel which is 31% of the final energy consumption on primary energy basis. Natural gas comprises 20% at 8,396 ktoe, and petroleum products, 10% at 4,508 ktoe.
When excluding biofuel, the final energy consumption on primary energy basis becomes 29,709 (43,009-13,300) ktoe among which approximately a half (50%) is the electricity consumption at 14,687 ktoe. Next come the natural gas at 8,396 ktoe (28%), petroleum products at 4,508 (15%), and coal at 2,118 ktoe (7%).
Primary energy basis final energy consumption by sector is shown in the following charts. Residential sector takes up 53% of the entire amount, with industry sector comprising 32% and transport sector 9%. When excluding the biofuel, industry sector becomes the dominant sector (46%), followed by residential sector (31%) and transport sector (13%).
With respect to the importance of the primary energy basis final energy consumption analysis, breakdown charts (all energy products on the left, excluding biofuel on the right) have been prepared. Focusing on mostly fossil fuel derived energy (i.e., excluding biofuel), it is observed that the industry sector electricity consumption, together with the residential sector electricity consumption are the large sector-product segments. As the consequence, energy efficiency and conservation potentials are most likely to be significant in these two segments.
7. National Energy Intensity
Energy intensity is measured by the quantity of energy required per unit output or activity, so that using less energy to produce a product reduces the intensity. (US DOE definition). National energy intensity of Bangladesh is calculated with the total energy supply (or final energy consumption) divided by constant gross domestic product (GDP) for the fiscal year. The constant market price GDP used is the FY 2015-16 price data in BDT.
Two kinds of national energy intensity are calculated for Bangladesh. One is the total energy supply divided by GDP (=TES/GDP) which is commonly employed as the national indicator internationally, and the other is the final energy consumption divided by GDP (=FEC/GDP) which may better reflect the energy efficiency of the activities conducted within the country.
For FY 2015-16 (FY 2015-16 price in BDT), TES/GDP is 2.23 [ktoe / BDT billion], while FEC/GDP is 1.59 [ktoe / BDT billion].
Explanatory notes for the national energy balance table calorific matrix can be found here: