Bangladesh gas crisis cripples industry, households

Bangladesh is grappling with a deepening natural gas crisis that is crippling its industries, disrupting household utilities, and hindering transportation. The Ashuganj fertilizer factory, a state-owned entity that once employed over 1,200 workers and produced more than 1,000 tons of urea daily, has been shut down since March 2025 due to gas shortages.

This shutdown, along with similar restrictions at five other major urea fertilizer plants, has led to widespread job losses and raised alarms about the nation's food security. The crisis extends to hundreds of other factories, including the crucial textile sector, which is the backbone of Bangladesh's economy and accounts for approximately 80 percent of its export earnings. The country is the world's second-largest garment exporter.

At home, residents are experiencing frequent gas outages, and power generation is insufficient to meet demand, resulting in rolling blackouts. Authorities have even mandated shopping malls to close an hour earlier to conserve electricity. "We get no gas supply at night at all. Sometimes the pressure is too low and we cannot even light two stoves simultaneously," said Nargis Begum, a 50-year-old housewife living near the Ashuganj factory.

Residents, particularly in rural areas, are reverting to using wood for cooking, while power outages leave them without fans during hot weather. Motorized rickshaw drivers, who rely on gas, have staged protests due to hours-long waits for fuel. Experts attribute the crisis to the depletion of older gas fields, insufficient investment in exploration by previous governments, and an over-reliance on imports. This dependency has been further strained by disruptions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments following the conflict in West Asia, which has also affected transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

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We get no gas supply at night at all. Sometimes the pressure is too low and we cannot even light two stoves simultaneously.