1. Overview
The total energy supply (TES) to the country was 52,860 ktoe while the final energy consumption (FEC) was 40,113 ktoe. Non-energy consumption was 1,631 ktoe, and the statistical difference was 1,922 ktoe. Transformation loss, energy industry own use, with the transmission and distribution loss altogether accounted for 9,195 ktoe. Bangladesh’s FEC / TES ratio for FY 2020-21 is 0.76.
Bangladesh’s national energy balance structure can be categorised by (i) dominance of its indigenous natural gas, with rapidly increasing portion of imported LNG (import started from FY2018-19), (ii) significant importance of biofuels, 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 (TES) of 52,860 ktoe is composed of 26,286 ktoe of natural gas, and 14,800 ktoe of biofuels 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 comprises 36,918 ktoe. This domestic production among the TES is also mostly composed of natural gas and biofuel. Imports are 16,279 ktoe. Breakdown of imports by energy products in the order of importance are; 5,537 ktoe of petroleum products, 5,140 ktoe of natural gas (LNG import), 3,369 ktoe of coal, 1,536 ktoe of crude oil, and 697 ktoe of electricity.
Self-sufficiency rate (domestic production / total energy supply) of Bangladesh’s TES is 70%, which is calculated from the sum of the indigenous supply of 36,918 ktoe, among the TES of 52,860 ktoe.
Biofuel comprising 28% of the total energy supply is a significant contributor to Bangladesh’s energy, however, it is an energy product which is neither regulated nor reported. It is also for this reason that the credibility of the biofuel data is not endorsed.
With the aim to identify the trends and efficiency of the controllable energy products utilisation, the analysis hereon are conducted under two setups: one setup being [a] all energy products, and another setup, by [b] excluding biofuel from the national energy balance table.
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 5,492 ktoe, 1,262 ktoe, and 961 ktoe, respectively. Although smaller in scale, there are indigenous condensate and natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation plants which produce 197 ktoe of petroleum products.
Overall transformation efficiency of thermal electric power generation (gross) is calculated as approximately 51% (which is excessively high probably due to low credibility of input fuel data). Considering the public power plants’ own use which is reported as 136 ktoe, and the national grid’s transmission & distribution loss which amounts to 271 ktoe, the overall efficiency of generation, transmission, and distribution of the grid electricity becomes approximately 46% (unexpectedly high due to probable incompleteness of power generation input fuel data). Similarly, the transformation efficiency of oil refinery and fractionation plants combined is approximately 96% (also excessively high due to possible data incompleteness). Captive power generation efficiency is assumed to be 35%. In overall, all the losses reported add up to 9,195 ktoe.
4. Final Energy Consumption (FEC) by Energy Product
Biofuels (fuelwood), comprising 37% of the final energy consumption (FEC) is the largest energy product being consumed in Bangladesh. It amounts to 14,800 ktoe. When excluding biofuel from the analysis ([b] setup), natural gas becomes the largest composition of final energy consumption (8,516 ktoe), followed by electricity of 7,553 ktoe. Petroleum product final consumption is 6,738 ktoe, while coal final consumption is 2,505 ktoe.
5. Final Energy Consumption (FEC) by Sector
Sectoral breakdown of Bangladesh’s final energy consumption (FEC) of 40,113 ktoe is as shown in the charts below. Looking at at the FEC of all energy products, the largest energy consuming sector, 22,955 ktoe is the residential sector. Entire biofuel is being consumed by this sector. When biofuel is excluded ([b] setup), Industry sector becomes the top energy consuming sector at 10,533 ktoe, followed by residential sector consuming 8,155 (=22,955-14,800) ktoe. Transport sector consumes 4,417 ktoe, followed by 1,126 ktoe consumption by agriculture sector. Commercial and public service sector sector energy consumption is still limited to 1,082 ktoe, but is rapidly and constantly increasing.
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 2.18 toe (=25.39 MWh) equivalent of primary energy. This is because the overall electricity transformation efficiency for FY 2020-21 was calculated to be approximately 46% (including both grid and captive, also considering losses). Similarly, the final consumption of 1 toe equivalent of petroleum product requires 1.04 toe of primary energy input, because the overall transformation efficiency of petroleum product for FY 2020-21 was calculated as 96% (note that these efficiency figures need to be elaborated). 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 40,113 ktoe becomes 49,307 ktoe on primary energy basis. Electricity comprises 34% of the total at 16,491 ktoe, followed by 14,800 ktoe of biofuels which is 30% of the final energy consumption on primary energy basis. Natural gas comprises 17% at 8,516 ktoe, and petroleum products, 14% at 6,994 ktoe.
When excluding biofuel, the final energy consumption on primary energy basis becomes 34,507 (49,307-14,800) ktoe among which approximately a half (48%) is the electricity consumption at 16,491 ktoe. Next come natural gas at 8,516 ktoe (25%), petroleum products at 6,994 (20%), and coal at 2,506 ktoe (5%).
Primary energy basis final energy consumption by sector is shown in the following charts. Residential sector takes up 55% of the entire amount, industry sector comprising 29%, and transport sector 9% ([a] setup). When excluding biofuels ([b] setup), industry sector becomes the dominant sector (41%), followed by residential sector (36%) and transport sector (13%).
With respect to the importance of the primary energy basis final energy consumption analysis, the segment breakdown charts (by sector and energy products) have been prepared. Segment breakdown chart for all energy product is on the left, while the segment breakdown chart excluding biofuel is on the right. Focusing on mostly fossil fuel derived energy (i.e., excluding biofuels), 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 2020-21 (FY 2015-16 price in BDT), TES/GDP is 1.87 [ktoe / BDT billion], while FEC/GDP is 1.42 [ktoe / BDT billion].
Explanatory notes for the national energy balance table calorific matrix can be found here: