| Abstract |
Bangladesh has among the lowest per capita energy (240 kg oil equivalents) consumption in the world and is severely dependent on additional environmentally friendly renewable energy resources in the future. Among the possible energy resources that could be explored is the potential geothermal energy in regions of higher geothermal gradients with favorable geo-tectonic setting and ideal petrophysical properties. A preliminary examination of bottom hole temperatures of a large number of on-shore wells spread over a vast area in the eastern part of the country, especially in Mymensingh-Sunamgonj-Sylhet Trough in the Bengal Foredeep, strongly suggests that several other areas are of great interest for further studies in order to determine their geothermal energy potential. Presently, natural gas, the only indigenous commercial energy resource, is going to be depleted by the year 2016, if no new large gas field is discovered in near future. Consequently, there is a dire need to harness reliable alternative energy resources in order to keep the pace of present GDP growth at 5 % for alleviating the inherent poverty of over 80 % population. Rural people use biomass to meet their various energy needs producing smoke, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide thus polluting the environment seriously endangering the health especially of children, old and sick people. Bangladesh is also among the lowest in the world in electricity consumption (112 kWh per person), available mostly to urban areas and growth centers leaving the 68 000 villages almost solely dependent on kerosene lamps for lighting. Geothermal energy can save rural people from the health hazards from excessive dependence on biomass energy. The parameters that need to be determined urgently is the temperature-depth variation, porosity, permeability of the reservoir sandstones, impermeable cap rooks (shales / clays) at appropriate depths where the temperature is sufficiently high and suitable for generation of electricity and other applications such as geo-heating and geo-cooling. Also the geochemistry of the formation fluid along with dissolved gases is of interest for further examination. The geothermal energy is green, indigenous, locally occurring and continuously available independent of climatic changes. It will help to reduce the huge oil bill that the country has to face, provided the national planners give adequate attention and support for the development of geothermal energy at a rapid pace to reduce the severe electricity crisis in the rural areas of Bangladesh as other energy resources like peat, hydropower, nuclear, solar, wind, tidal / waves are not significant at present. |