DHAKA, Aug 9, 2022 (BSS) - Prime Minister's Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs Adviser Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury today called for efficient and cost-effective use of energy and its diversification for ensuring energy security.

He was addressing a virtual seminar arranged by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on the occasion of the National Energy Security Day.

Recalling the significance of observance the day on August 9, the premier's adviser said the dreams of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were destroyed with his brutal assassination along with his most of his family members.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman bought five gas fields--Titas, Bakhrabad, Habiganj, Rashidpur and Kailashtila from the then British Oil company 'Shell Oil' by paying only 4.5 million pound sterling on August 9 in 1975 and nationalized those, which are still playing vital role in the economic development and energy security.

The country is getting around 30 percent gas of its total amount of extraction from the five gas fields.
 
Speaking as the special guest, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the government has taken all-out measures to ensure energy security.

"Though the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict created obstacle in achieving our cherished goal, these could not halt us. Amid the global crisis, the supply of oil, gas and LPG remains uninterrupted in the country" he said.

He urged all to keep trust in Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "We can overcome any crisis," he said and hoped the crisis would also be overcome soon.

Energy and Mineral Resources Division Senior Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain chaired the virtual seminar while Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Begum Waseqa Ayesha Khan spoke as the special guest.

Geology professor at Dhaka University Dr Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan presented the keynote paper in the seminar while senior journalist Mollah Amzad Hossain also spoke.