Bangladesh gas crisis shuts factories and cuts power

Bangladesh's gas crisis has shut or restricted major fertiliser plants, cut factory output and caused regular power and household gas shortages across the country.

The state-owned Ashuganj fertiliser factory has been closed since March 2025. It once employed more than 1,200 people and produced more than 1,000 tonnes of urea a day for farmers.

It is one of six major urea fertiliser plants forced to close or restrict operations because of gas shortages. Trade union leader Md Abu Kawsar said the shutdowns had cost workers their jobs and threatened an industry linked to food security.

The shortage is also affecting hundreds of factories, including textile plants. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment exporter, and garments account for about 80 percent of its export earnings.

Gas-fired power plants are struggling to meet electricity demand, causing regular blackouts. The government issued electricity-saving measures in August, including ordering shopping malls to close an hour earlier.

Households have also been hit by low pressure and overnight cuts to piped gas. Some families, especially in rural areas, have switched to wood-burning stoves, while electricity cuts leave residents without fans in hot, humid weather.

Gas-powered rickshaw drivers have blocked roads in protest after waiting hours for fuel.

The shortage follows declining production from ageing domestic fields, rising demand and disrupted liquefied natural gas imports. Bangladesh was largely self-sufficient in natural gas in 2018, but imports from Qatar have become important.

Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku blamed the previous government of Sheikh Hasina, ousted in 2024, for failing to drill new wells. Petrobangla chairman Md Abdul Mannan said the long-term answer was renewable energy, but gave no firm timetable.