The government will procure lentil, loose soybean oil, loose palm oil, LNG, fertiliser, crude and refined petroleum oil. The Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase in a meeting, with Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair, approved a number of proposals of different ministries in this regard on Wednesday. It also approved printing of textbooks for students. Approving the proposals, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said the government has been promptly approving different proposals to buy essential commodities which reflects the cordial intention of the government to keep the market stable through ensuring smooth supply. Govt to procure rice, sugar, lentil, fertilizer for domestic needs As per proposals, moved by the Commerce Ministry, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will purchase 10,000 metric tons (MT) of lentils, 38.10 lakh litres of loose soybean oil, 1.10 lakh litres of palm oil for its Open Market Sale Programme. Of these, the Nabil Naba Foods Limited won a contract through open tender to supply 10,000 MT of lentil at Tk 95.97 crore with each kg at Tk 95.97. Each bag will contain 50 kg lentils. S Alam Super Edible Oil Ltd will supply 38.10 lakh litres of refined loose soybean oil under direct purchase method (DPM) at a cost of Tk 53.34 crore, with each litre at Tk 140 while the same company will supply 1.10 lakh refined loose palm oil at a cost of Tk 143 crore with each litre at Tk 130. The Bangladesh Oil Gas and Petroleum Corporation – Petrobangla will import one cargo of LNG through international quotation from the international spot market. TCB to procure soybean oil, sugar, lentil to sell through OMS Vitol Asia Pte. Ltd, Singapore will supply the cargo at a cost of Tk 708.55 crore, with each MMBtu at $15.02.The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 600,000 MT of Murban Crude petroleum from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of UAE at a cost of Tk 5208.364 crore for the year 2025 while it will import 700,000 MT of Arabian Light Crude (ALC) from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (SAUDI ARAMCO) at a cost of Tk 6025.206 crore.The committee also approved a proposal to import refined petroleum through international; quotation from Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd', Singapore; Vitol Asia Pte-Ltd., Singapore and Co OQ Trading Limited, Dubai' UAE at a cost of Tk 1070.164 crore,. But quantity was not mentioned in the brief proposal. The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea fertilizer at Tk 223.23 crore from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company, Saudi Arabia. Govt to procure 55,000 MT soybean oil for OMS The Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will import 30,000 MT of MOP fertiliser from JSC Foreign Economic corporation "Prodintorg at Tk 104.31 crore, 40,000 MT of DAP fertiliser from OCP NUTRCROPS of Morocco at Tk 280.68 crore, another 30,000 MT of TSP at Tk 252.46 crore from the NUTRCROPS of Morocco. The committee also approved awarding of contracts to different suppliers for printing and supplying of textbooks to distribute those among the students at free of cost.

Excelerate Energy, Inc. has announced that it has delivered two cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the month of November to Petrobangla through the company’s two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) located offshore Moheshkhali Island. “Excelerate Energy is pleased to help fuel Bangladesh’s economy through its flexible infrastructure and the delivery of affordable LNG supply,” said Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Excelerate, in a statement on Sunday. “We are proud to have won this contract to provide LNG through an open and fair tender process where we offered the most competitive price,” he added. Excelerate Energy has operated LNG infrastructure in Bangladesh since 2018, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation. The Company’s FSRUs in the Bay of Bengal deliver approximately 34% of Bangladesh’s natural gas supply.  

Petrobangla is going to make a fresh list of international spot market LNG supply companies through an open tender by next week. "The tender is ready for circulation in the media and hopefully the notice will be published in the first half of the next week", Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told UNB. He noted that this time an open tender will be floated to make a fresh list of the LNG suppliers through a transparent process. Bangladesh has been importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international spot market since 2019 to meet its growing gas demands. To ensure a smooth supply, as per instruction of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the Petrobangla and its LNG handling subsidiary Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL) invited expressions of interest from the international companies to enlist them with the authorities concerned. Initially, 17 companies were listed on the basis of the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and then 5 more companies were added to the list. From these companies, Petrobangla has been importing the LNG from the international spot market. But every time, it was seen that again and again a number of certain companies are getting contracts and dominating the business. These companies include Vitol Asia of Singapore, TotalEnergies of Switzerland, Excelerate Energy of USA, and Gunvor Singapore. Read: Govt approves bulk imports of rice, wheat, sugar, LNG, fertiliser Of these, there are allegations; some of the companies had business interests with former ministers and state ministers of the fallen Awami League government and also some local business groups. After the fall of the Awami League government, when the interim government assumed office, it decided to suspend the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and instead import the LNG from the spot market under the Public Procurement Rule 2008. It also decided to scrap the list of the companies soon to bring transparency in the bulk import of LNG as the government has to spend more than a billion dollars to import the LNG. As part of the decision, finally the Petrobangla moves to prepare a fresh list of the interested companies through an open and transparent process. "We have decided once the new list of the companies is prepared, we will cancel the previous list of the 23 companies", said the Petrobangla. Energy industry insiders said that the new move will encourage more reputed international companies to supply LNG to Bangladesh from the international spot market. "This will also facilitate to get LNG at a much lower rate which will ultimately reduce the energy cost of the government", said an energy expert wishing anonymity. Bangladesh has been experiencing huge gas crisis as it produces 3100 MMCFD Gas per day against a demand of about 4000 MMCFD. Read more: Govt approves LNG and fertilizer import proposals Of the total production of 3100 MMCFD, some 1100 MMCFD gas is being imported from abroad of which 150-200 MMCFD gas is imported from the spot market while remaining is imported from Qatar and Oman under long term contract.

The Advisors’ Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) has approved several key proposals for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fertilizer to meet domestic demands. In a meeting held on Thursday, chaired virtually by Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, who is currently on a visit to the USA, the committee gave the go-ahead to the proposals. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division submitted two proposals on behalf of state-owned Petrobangla for the procurement of two LNG cargoes from the international spot market under the Public Procurement Rules 2008. Govt cancels deal with Summit Group on setting up new LNG terminal TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd., Switzerland, will supply one LNG cargo containing 33.66 lakh MMBtu at a cost of Tk 657.61 crore, with each MMBtu priced at $13.94. The same company will provide a second cargo of the same volume, costing Tk 640.15 crore, with each MMBtu priced slightly lower at $13.57. In addition, the ACCGP approved a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture to import 30,000 metric tons of MOP fertilizer from Russia. The state-owned Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will handle the import from Russia's JSC Foreign Economic Corporation Prodintorg, with the total cost amounting to Tk 104.31 crore, at $289.75 per metric ton. Purchase body approves proposals to import of LNG, lentil, and fertiliser

Bangladesh and Qatar want to expand the existing ties with broader cooperation in the areas of manpower, energy, trade and investment following the planned visit of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Bangladesh next month. The two countries are in discussion to finalise nearly a dozen of cooperation documents which will be signed during the visit, said a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two-day visit is likely to take place on April 21-22, he said.  The two sides are now working on the MoUs and agreements that will be signed after the Emir’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Cease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas are expected to resume Sunday in Qatar The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already held an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss various aspects of the visit. In March last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha. She sought increased energy, particularly LNG, from Qatar to meet the energy demands. The State of Qatar recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign State on March 4, 1974 following the 2nd OIC Summit held in February 1974. Qatar assures support for Bangladesh's media sector development Bangladesh opened its diplomatic mission in Doha on June 25, 1975. The State of Qatar reciprocated by opening its diplomatic mission in Dhaka in 1982. Bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Qatar are based on mutual respect, shared values, common religious ground, shared culture, and tradition. People-to-people contacts bolstered by more than four hundred thousand Bangladeshi workers who are highly appreciated as disciplined and hardworking is one of the dominant features of bilateral relations, according to the MoFA. Bangladesh and Qatar consider each other as brotherly countries and important development partners in materialising Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 and Qatar’s vision 2030. Read more: Bangladesh ambassador accredited to Hungary presents credentials to Hungarian president

The government will import a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG), having 33.66 lakh MMBtu, from the Vitol Asia Pte Ltd of Singapore at a cost Tk 429.40 crore to meet the growing gas demand in the country. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in a meeting, with Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair, approved a proposal of state-owned Petrobangla in this regard. As per the proposal, placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources on behalf of the Petrobangla, each unit of the LNG will cost $9.93, a price lowest in last two years. Govt to procure LNG, fertiliser, lentil and edible oil After the meeting, Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division Syed Mahmud Khan informed the reporters that the supplier was selected from the limited listed companies through a bidding in the international spot market under Master Sale and Purchase Agreement (MSPA). The Rapid Increase in Supply of Electricity and Energy (Special Provisions) Act 2010 (Amendment 2021) was followed in this regard. Sources in the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said that Bangladesh has planned to import a total of 13 LNG cargoes from January to June this year. This has been the second cargo as the first one was given approval in the last week’s meeting on  January 22 under which Switzerland-based company 'TotalEnergies Gas and Power Limited' will supply a cargo having the same volume 33.66 lakh MMBtu with each unit price  $10.88. Gas supply to Ctg, elsewhere starts improving as LNG terminal resumes production Earlier the government signed 'Master Sale and Purchase' Agreement (MSPA) with 22 shortlisted companies  to import LNG from the international spot market. Imports of LNG from the spot market were suspended from July 2022 to January 2023 as the price of LNG from the spot market increased many times while the government was facing dollar crisis. Currently, the country has been experiencing a severe gas crisis as production came down to nearly 2500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) while the demand is about 4000 mmcfd. As a result, household consumers in many areas are not getting gas for cooking while power and industrial productions are being seriously disrupted due to gas shortage.  In the meantime, the government increased the gas price for both captive power and public sector power generation on January 18, 2023. Cabinet body nods import of refined petroleum, LNG  Through an order, the price of gas used for power generation was set at Tk 14 per cubic metre, while the price of gas to be used in captive power and industry was set at Tk 30 per cubic metre. Meanwhile, the CCGP approved two separate proposals to import a total of 60,000 metric tons (MT) of urea fertiliser from Qatar and Saudi Arabia at a cost of Tk 223.84 crore under the state contracts.

Gas supply to Chattagram and elsewhere has started to improve after a floating LNG terminal in Moheshkhali resumed production after its 45-day scheduled maintenance programme. “Excelerate Energy’s FSRU started production after scheduled maintenance today. Now it has been supplying 230 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) and hopefully the supply will reach 500 mmcfd soon,” said a top official of the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL). The RPGCL, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrobangla, has been responsible to import LNG from abroad and receive re-gasification service from the existing two LNG terminals in Moheshkhali, one set up by Summit Group and another by US-based Excelerate Energy. Each LNG terminal has a capacity to supply 500 mmcfd gas to the national gas network from which a major portion is supplied to Chattagram . Read: Energy Division regrets inconvenience from gas crisis in Chattagram, elsewhere The Excelerate Energy’s FSRU went on a 45-day maintenance programme suspending supply of gas to the national gas grid while the Summit’s FSRU experienced a technical fault halting gas supply to the national gas network, leading to a severe gas crisis in Chattagram and elsewhere. Many areas in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur experienced extreme gas crises or low pressure problems. The RPGCL official, however, informed that Summit’s FSRU also resumed production to a very low scale and it is providing a supply of 130 mmcfd against its capacity of 500 mmcfd. He noted that the gas shortage problem is unlikely to be fully resolved as the Summit’s FSRU also has a schedule to start maintenance programme within 3-4 days. Read: Uninterrupted gas supply by 2026 : Nasrul Hamid outlines energy plans “We think the situation will improve to some extent, but not fully”, he told UNB. The Energy Division on Friday expressed regrets for the inconvenience caused to consumers over the gas crisis in Chattogram and elsewhere in the country due to the suspension of the LNG supply from FSRU in Moheshkhali following a technical fault there. In a press release, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said that due to a technical fault at a Moheshkhali LNG FSRU, gas supply to Chattogram and other areas of the country remained suspended since early morning on Friday. Read more: Acute gas crisis hits Chattogram city residents hard

More than two-thirds of the total power generation capacity will remain idle this coming winter, as more power is added to the national grid from the private sector pushing up the capacity payment obligation of the government of Bangladesh. It comes at a time when already the government’s outstanding bills to the private sector power producers has ballooned out to $3.5 billion. According to the Power Division’s official statistics, as of September 13, 2023, the country's power generation capacity was 27,834 MW including off-grid renewable and captive power, while the highest generated in a day was 15,648 MW. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) official data shows the country generated 14,021 MW on September 26, while covering the excess demand by resorting to load shedding of 113 MW. It means half the power generation capacity remains utilised, while load shedding is also unavoidable. Read: Japan provides $1500 million to implement Matarbari coal-fired power plant According to power industry insiders, the surplus power situation will be getting worse in the coming winter with more electricity coming to the national grid from the private sector power plants in the next few months and installed generation capacity may cross 30,000 MW, increasing the surplus electricity to about 70 percent as demand usually dips during the season. The expected boost to capacity includes 1,224 MW from S Alam Group’s power plant in Bashkhali of Chattagram (of which first unit of 620 MW already came to the grid), 718 MW electricity from Reliance Power LNG-based Plant in Meghnaghat, 590 MW from LNG-based GE-Summit Meghnaghat-2 power plant and 584 MW from LNG-based Unique Group’s power plant in Meghnaghat. The sponsors of these plants are working hard to persuade the government to allow them to officially commission their plants as all of them are ready for operation. But due to shortage of gas they are not allowed to start operation. Read: First shipment of uranium for Rooppur nuclear power plant arrives in country In the meantime, more electricity from some of the recently completed power plants already came to the grid, including the second unit of the Adani Group’s 1,600 MW coal-fired power plant, and 620 MW from the second unit of Rampal Power Plant. Last winter, the power generation came down to below 10,000 MW with the decreasing demand. BPDB record shows the generation was recorded at 9,134 MW on December 31 in 2022. Experts believe the generation will remain below 10,000 MW in the coming winter as demand is not increasing at a faster pace. Though 70 percent electricity will remain idle, the sponsors will get their payments in the form of capacity charges as per their contract with the government, said the BPDB officials. Read: Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power The government is already struggling to keep up with its payments owed to the private power producers. Officials at the Power Division and BPDB said currently the total owed to the Independent Power Producers (IPPS) is $3.5 billion (equivalent to over Tk 35,000 crore) as of September 2023. As per contract with the government, the IPPs are facing dual problems with their bills. First, they are not getting bills on time and secondly, they are getting partial bills, but not being able to convert the payment into foreign exchange due to the dollar crisis. A top BPDB official admitted the problem to UNB, saying that they had reached an understanding with Bangladesh Bank under a mediation of the Finance Ministry that the central bank will provide on average $20 million every day to BPDB to cover its costs. Read: Power Cell engages top US consultancy in move towards ‘Smart Grid’ “But we’re not getting more than $10-15 million a day,” a top BPDB official told UNB on condition of anonymity as the issue is very sensitive and he is not allowed to speak on the issue. Energy experts said the country is heading for problems in the power sector and it would have a big impact on the overall economy pushing up inflation further. Eminent energy expert and advisor to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam said that with the 50 percent surplus power in summer and 70 percent in winter, the country will be heading towards a disastrous situation. Read: S Alam Group’s 1320 MW Banshkhali coal-fired power plant starts commercial operation “There will be a big indiscipline in the power sector as pressure for private sector’s capacity payment will continue to go up while import of primary fuel will be increasing. Finally, it will lead to energy insecurity,” he told UNB. In such a situation, he said, the only way-out is that the government has to admit first it has done a mistake by giving permission to the private sector for excessive power generation without consideration of the demand and then change the current policy and strategy. Otherwise, the situation will be more difficult to manage as pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming to raise electricity tariff again. If so, it will further push up inflation, he added.

State-owned Petrobangla, the oil gas and mineral corporation of Bangladesh, is set to sign another agreement with OQT, Oman to import more liquified natural gas (LNG) from the Middle-east country.    According to the Ministry of Power Energy and Mineral Resources, the signing ceremony between Petrobangla and OQT, the Omani state-owned company, will take place in the city on Monday. Also Road: Deal signed with Qatar to get additional 1.5 MTPA of LNG for next 15 years Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr. Tawfiq-e- Elahi chowdhury and State Minister for Power Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid are expected to be present at the function.  Currently, Bangladesh has been importing 1-1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Oman under a state level deal.  “This will be in addition to the existing deal with Oman to increase the import by another 1 million MT under a 10-year agreement”, said a senior official of the Ministry of Power Energy and Mineral Resources.    Also Read: Qatar's Amir promises larger supply of LNG to Bangladesh Bangladesh has been desperately looking for increasing its import of LNG under a long-term agreement to sustain the volatility due to the frequent price fluctuation in the global energy market. As part of the move, recently Bangladesh signed a new deal with Qatar to get an additional 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the next 15 years from 2026. Also Read: Bangladesh-Oman foreign office consultations held at Muscat  The Petrobangla signed the new agreement with Qatar’s state-owned Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd., (Qatargas). Also Read: Summit Group receives approval for setting up another LNG terminal Under the new deal, Qatar will supply an additional about 1.5 MTPA of LNG per year from 2026 to 2040. Of this, Bangladesh will get 12 LNG cargoes in 2026 and 24 cargoes in 2027. Currently, Bangladesh has been importing 1.82-2.5 million MTPA of LNG since 2018 under an existing deal signed in 2017. Also Read: Floating LNG terminal resumes supply, but loadshedding keeps increasing The country's total natural gas production is about 3000 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) against a demand of 4000 MMCFD leaving a shortfall of about 1000 MMCFD. Of the total production, 700 MMCFD is imported while 2300 MMCFD.  Also Read: Petrobangla wants to set up 3 more LNG terminals to meet growing gas demand    

Removal of discrepancies in the import duties imposed on primary fuels, which are used as inputs in power generation, can reduce the government’s subsidies in the power and energy sector. The notion is being put forward by the private power producers of the country, also known as IPPs (independent power producers). They are claiming that the discriminatory import taxes on primary fuels - furnace oil (diesel), coal, and gas (LNG) - ultimately favours the coal-fired power plants that projects the government’s biases towards ‘the dirtiest fuel’. Currently there is a 5 percent duty on the import of coal, which rises to  34 percent on furnace oil, aka heavy fuel oil (HFO), and 22 percent on gas. Read more: Ilisha-1 country’s 29th gas field: Nasrul Hamid As a result, the price per MMBtu (metric million British Thermal Unit) of coal comes to Tk 10-11 and when power is generated from coal, it costs Tk 12-13. After adding 5 percent import duty, the cost of electricity from coal-fired power plants becomes Tk 13-14.   On the other hand, the price per MMBtu of HFO comes to Tk 11-12 and the power generation from the HFO costs Tk 11-12 due to its higher heat value. But when the 34 percent import duty on HFO is added, its power generation cost becomes Tk 15-16 per unit. In the same way, the cost per MMBtu of imported gas is Tk 11-12 and its power generation cost becomes 10-11 due to its higher heat value. But after adding the import duty of 22 percent, the per unit electricity generation cost from gas-fired plants goes up to 13-14 per unit. “If the discrepancies are removed from duty regime, and import duty on all fuels is made uniform at 22 percent, the production cost of electricity from diesel-fired plants will be lower than that of coal-fired power plants,” said Imran Karim, former president of Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA), the trade body representing the interests of private power producers. Read more: Many big industries using illegal gas connections: Nasrul Hamid Karim, also the vice chairman of Confidence Group, a leading firm in private power generation, said the duty should be uniform considering the government’s commitment to support cleaner fuels - coal being the original dirty fuel. Furnace oil of course is no better. “The government will receive more revenue from imported fuels, if the duty on all fuels are equalised,” he added.  According to the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s estimate, in the current fiscal 2022-23, the power and energy sector will require over Tk 23,000 in subsidies to cover its losses. Of this, the power sector will require Tk 18,000 crore while around Tk 6000 crore would go on primary fuels. Read more: New PSC: Petrobangla awaits final nods to invite int’l bidding for offshore blocks Earlier, the loss in the sector was estimated much higher at over Tk 70,000 crore due to the excessive price hike of gas, coal and petroleum fuel following the war in Ukraine that began in February 2022. But after the enhancement of fuel prices on the domestic market by more than 40 percent pn average and power tariff by more than 15 percent, the losses came down and subsequently the requirement for subsidy was also reduced to around Tk 23,000 crore, said officials at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. Private power producers claim that if the import duty on coal and furnace oil were made the same as that on gas, i.e. 22 percent, it would reduce overall costs and thus reduce the subsidy as well. “Because, the power generation by furnace oil-based plants will automatically go down and it will ultimately have an impact on the overall tariff structure in the power sector by seeping through to both the wholesale and retail levels,” said an IPP plant operator. Read more: Petrobangla initiates move to end foreign company’s monopoly in pre-paid gas metering system Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain said that both coal and furnace oil are dirty fuels, so by the IPPs’ logic, the import duty on these two fuels should be higher than on gas - not uniform. “The import duty on coal and HFO should be equal and import duty on gas could be comparatively lower as it is the cleanest of the three,” he said.