Bangladesh's interim government has decreased the prices of petroleum fuels at the retail level with effect from September 1. As per a gazette notification issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on Saturday, the price of diesel and kerosine at the consumer level will be Tk 105.50 per litre, down by Tk 1.25, from the previous price of Tk 106.75. Price of petrol will be decreased by Tk 6 to Tk 121 per litre, from the previous price of Tk 127.  Read more: Govt's executive authority to raise power and gas prices cancelled through ordinance Price of octane will also be decreased by Tk 6 to 125 per litre, from the previous price of Tk 131 per litre.  The new prices of petroleum fuels have been set in continuation of every month’s adjustment process under an automatic pricing formula in line with the global market price, said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. 

The newly built 130-km Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline for carrying diesel or petroleum is ready for inauguration. According to official sources, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to formally inaugurate the 131.57-km cross-border pipeline through video conferencing on March 18. Named 'Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline', some 126.57-km of the pipeline lies in Bangladesh while the remaining 5-km was installed in India. “All the necessary works of the pipeline project were completed and it’s now ready for inauguration,” ABM Azad, chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), told UNB. The BPC, the state marketing agency of petroleum fuel under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, has been implementing the project under a 15-year government’s deal with India to annually import 250,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the neighbouring country through the cross-border pipeline. Also Read: India-Bangladesh ‘friendship’ pipeline in Dinajpur to ensure energy security: Nasrul Hamid The deal signed was on the basis of an unsolicited offer in 2017 following the approval of the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee on August 23. Bangladesh annually needs to import 6.6 million MT-7.7 million MT of petroleum to meet its demand. According to official documents seen by UNB, the whole consignment of petroleum will come through the cross-border pipeline from India's Numaligarh refinery, located in Golaghat in north-eastern Indian state of Assam, while Bangladesh will receive it at Parbatipur petroleum fuel depot in north-western district of Dinajpur. Official sources said though most part of the proposed pipeline is to be laid in the Bangladesh part, the Indian government has provided about Rs 303 crore as a loan under Indian line of credit (LOC) to build the Bangladesh portion. Bangladesh will operate the pipeline in its part while India will operate the pipeline in its portion. Officials said Dhaka had to first sign a 'Sales & Purchase Agreement' (SPA) to receive New Delhi’s financial support as a pre-condition. The documents show that the 'premium' or transportation cost of the petroleum was fixed at $5.5 per barrel of diesel and the price of petroleum will be fixed on the basis of price on the international oil market. The officials said when such a deal was signed Bangladesh was spending $4.4 per barrel to import diesel from overseas through vessels. The documents also reveal that Bangladesh will annually import 250,000 metric tonnes in the first three years, 300,000 mt annually in the 4th to 6th years, 350,000 mt annually in the 7th to 10th years and 400,000 mt annually from the 11th to 15th years. Currently, Bangladesh has been importing 22,000 MT of diesel per month through railway wagons.   BPC chairman ABM Azad said Bangladesh will benefit from such a pipeline in multiple ways and the deal could be extended for a further period of time.  He said the premium is cheaper compared with import cost from overseas as Bangladesh has to spend $12 per barrel as premium to import diesel. He said that such petroleum imports from India through cross-border pipelines will help create a stock of petroleum in the northern region to meet the growing demands in that part of the country.  Recently, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid visited the pipeline project and appreciated the officials for completing it ahead of schedule. He said this pipeline will help increase fuel supply by 29,000 MT in the 16 districts of the country’s northern region.     

Bangladesh will import 2.040 million (20.40 lakh) metric tons (MT) of refined petroleum from 7 state-owned entities from 6 countries for a six month period from January to June in 2023. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in a virtual meeting approved a proposal of state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) in this regard on Wednesday. The 7 state-owned entities are BSP Indonesia, ENOC UAE, IOCL India, Petrochina China, PTLCL Malaysia, PTTT Thailand and UNIPEC China. As per the proposal, placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the BPC will import the bulk refined petroleum at a total cost of Tk 18,215.52 crore. Read more: Bangladesh wants to import petroleum from KSA at lower price: Nasrul Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting which was virtually attended by the members of the committee. However, no detail of the proposed refined petroleum import was disclosed by the authorities concerned. Normally, Bangladesh annually needs to import about 6.633 million metric tons of refined and crude petroleum of which 5.233 is refined and remaining 1.4 million metric tons is crude oils for a year to meet its requirements. The cabinet body also approved another proposal of the BPC to import 60,000 metric tons of diesel from India's Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) from January to December, 2023 period at a cost of Tk 545.04 crore. The committee also approved three contract award proposals of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) for modernisation and capacity building of power distribution projects in Khulna Division. All the three contracts were awarded to the BRB Cable Industries Ltd. The 2 contracts are supplying 6,650 km conductor and wire (Bare) supply at Tk 67.03 crore under Lot -1 and the supply of the same products at price under Lot-2. Read more: Bangladesh plans to import 5.46 million MT of petroleum in 2023 Under the Lot-3, there will be supply of 1,200 km of conductor and wire (Insulated) at 18.67 crore A proposal of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries (BCIC) received the nod of the committee to import 30,000 metric tons bulk granular urea fertilizer from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE at Tk 150.08 crore. Another proposal of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) under the Ministry of Commerce to import 12,000 MT of sugar from Srinnova Ispat Private Ltd., Kolkata, India at a cost of Tk 70.02 crore received the nod of the committee.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that Bangladesh wants to import petroleum from Saudi Arabia at a relatively lower price. He conveyed such interest when Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Bangladesh Issa Bin Youssef Al-Dahilan met him at his office in the ministry on Thursday. Read more: Bangladesh plans to import 5.46 million MT of petroleum in 2023 “We are also interested in purchasing the fuel on deferred payment,” he told the Saudi envoy. During the meeting they discussed various issues related to mutual interest and also possible solutions to the energy crisis in Bangladesh. Welcoming the Saudi ambassador he said Bangladesh wants to strengthen trade relations with the brotherly nation. Read more: Country has adequate stocks of petroleum fuel: Energy Division The Saudi ambassador said that the interest of Saudi companies in investing in power and energy sector in Bangladesh is growing. ACWA Power Company of Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Bangladesh, he mentioned.

Bangladesh has planned to import 5.46 million (54.6 lakh) metric tons of petroleum for 2023. Of these bulk petroleum, some 3.860 million (38.60 lakh tons) is refined petroleum while the remaining 1.6 million (16 lakh) MT is crude petroleum. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting, with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair, on Wednesday gave approval in principle to two separate proposals in this regard, placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import the entire petroleum. As per the proposal, 1.6 million MT of crude petroleum will be imported from ARAMCO of Saudi Arabia and ADNOC of Abu Dhabi through a direct procurement method. The refined 3.8 million MT petroleum will be imported from different countries under G2G basis.  However, the sources of the import and the quantities were not disclosed. These proposals will come to the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) for final approval and at that stage, the details of the proposals might be disclosed. Normally Bangladesh imports half of its refined petroleum through G2G basis through negotiation and the remaining half from the international market through international tender. Both in the negotiation process and tender process and negotiation process, only premium is set for the import while the petroleum rate is fixed on the basis of market rate through a certain formula.     Read: Country has adequate stocks of petroleum fuel: Energy Division “Chattogram Metropolitan Sewerage Project for Patenga Catchment” The CCEA also approved in principle another proposal titled “Chattogram Metropolitan Sewerage Project for Patenga Catchment” to implement it through public-private partnership (PPP). The Local Government Division placed the proposal while its subordinate body Chattagram WASA will implement the project in order to build an environment-friendly sanitation system in South Patenga and surrounding areas under the Chattagram City Corporation. No detail of the project’s cost was disclosed in the meeting.

The government announced the largest ever hikes in the price of fuel oils - ranging from 42- 52 percent - that became effective as of midnight Friday (technically 0000 hrs Saturday). At the consumer level, the retail prices of diesel and kerosene will be Tk114 per litre, up by a whopping 42.5% from Tk 80/litre, the price set last November following a 23% hike from Tk 65/litre. But the 42.5% hike even exceeds the 37.5% hike in price from 2007, when it went up from Tk 40 to Tk 55 - the largest hike on record prior to tonight. Octane will cost Tk135 per litre, up an eye-watering 51.7% from Tk 89/litre - again the largest hike on record. Lastly a litre of petrol will set consumers back by Tk130 from now at the pump, that used to be Tk 86/litre even just a few hours ago as of writing this report - another 51% hike in one go that has no precedent in independent Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) have adjusted the petroleum fuel prices as the prices are much higher in the international market compared to Bangladesh, the Energy Division said Friday. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said "The government avoided increasing the prices of fuel oils for as long as it could. Now some adjustments have to be made taking stock of the current global situation." Read: Bangladesh ‘looks unable’ to take advantage of low fuel price He offered some hope that the prices may be adjusted back down if the situation in the international energy markets shifts to allow that. But this rarely, if ever, happens. Nasrul Hamid harked back to the one occasion it happened under him, by very small amounts, when prices hit rock bottom internationally in the midst of a prolonged slump in prices that only turned around with the most recent rally in energy markets. "In April 2016, the government reduced the prices of fuel oils. If the situation normalises, the prices of fuel oils will be revised accordingly," he said. Nasrul said due to the upward trend in fuel prices in the global market, many countries have been regularly making adjustments to prices. It would seem the government has chosen to gain parity with prices in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal. West Bengal government in India set the price of diesel at Rs92.76 per litre and petrol at Rs106.03 per litre in Kolkata on May 22, 2022 - these prices remain in effect today, and work out to Tk114.09 (diesel) and Tk130.42 (petrol), at an exchange rate of Rs1 =Tk1.23. Also, the BPC is already running a loss of Tk8,014.51 crore in petroleum fuel sales in the last six months, from February to July. Considering the global oil market situation, making "rational price adjustments" became essential to continue BPC as a going concern, while tasked with the vital function of overseeing petroleum imports, among other  things. Read: Fuel price hike: transporters to go on indefinite strike from Friday

Bangladesh will import 1.490 million metric tons of refined petroleum oil from six state-owned companies of six countries over the next six months from January to June to meet its domestic requirement. Another 90,000 metric tons of diesel will be procured from India’s state-owned Numalighar Refinery Limited (NRL), spending 512.84 crore. At a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) approved two proposals in this regard. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting while members of the committee attended it virtually. READ: Bangladesh plans to import huge petroleum fuel amid global market volatility As per the estimate, the bulk import of refined petroleum will cost an estimated Tk 8417.23 crore and that will come from PTTT of Thailand,  ENOC of United Arab Emirates, Petrochina, BSP of Indonesia, PTLCL of Malaysia and UNIPEC of China. The committee approved 13 procurement proposals from different ministries. Of these, there is a proposal from the Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority to award a Tk 1205.18 crore contract to Indian company LARSEN & TOUBRO Limited to set up eight steel structure multipurpose buildings in eight districts. Three proposals of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) got the nod of the committee. Under these, the BREB will procure 32,400 PC poles from Joint Venture of (1) Charka SPC Poles Ltd.; (2) Dada Engineering Ltd and (3) Confidence Infrastructure Ltd at Tk 31.36 crore while another 32,396 SPC poles  will be procured from Joint Venture of (1) Charka SPC Poles Ltd.; (2) Confidence Infrastructure Ltd. and (3) Poles and Concrete Ltd at Tk 31.35 crore. The BREB will procure 13,0040 distribution transformers from TS Transformers Ltd involving Tk 71.99 crore. READ: BPDB’s extra purchase order of petroleum puts BPC in trouble Seven proposals of the Ministry of Shipping received the CCPP approval. Of these, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) placed 5 proposals to award contracts for digging in the Punorbhaba River while one proposal was from Chattagram Port Authority to procure two tag boats from CHEOY LEE SHIPYARDS LTD, Hong Kong at Tk 188.39 crore and another was from Mongla Port Authority to procure two tag boats from the same company at Tk 222.89 crore.

The global price surge in the petroleum fuels is forcing the government to count losses as it has to import both liquid petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) at rates much higher than that was last year.   According to official sources, against the backlash of price surge of petroleum fuels the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is now importing different petroleum products at more than  double the rates than the last year’s. As a result, the BPC has been incurring a loss of over Tk 20 crore per day, said a top official of the prime government petroleum marketing entity. Read: Proposals for LNG, petroleum, wheat import get clearance To offset the loss, the petroleum marketing body is now going to propose the government to allow it to set a price on a monthly basis, said a top official at the BPC. “Soon, we’ll send a proposal to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division to allow the BPC to set the petroleum prices on a monthly basis”, Syed Mehdi Hasan, director (operations & planning), told UNB. Currently, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division sets the fuel price on an occasional basis considering the global market price. According to BPC sources, the refined petroleum fuel, specially, diesel, is now selling as much as at $93 per barrel on the global market this week which was selling at $43 per barrel in October 2020. “We’ve to now buy the diesel from the world market at a price more than double  the price it was selling last year”, said a BPC official working at the commercial & operations department of the organization.     He said if the current rates of petroleum continue or witness a rise, the BPC will have to incur a loss of Tk 7000—Tk 8000 crore in a year.

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase at a meeting on Wednesday approved 12 proposals, including the import of LNG, liquid petroleum and wheat. The meeting also endorsed the installation of a 50MW solar power plant in private sector to supply electricity to the government entity. Besides, two proposals received approval in principle of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair (CCEA) for the purchase of a huge number of syringes to be used for Covid-19 vaccination and also the import of petroleum for meeting local demands. As per the approvals of the CCEA, the Department of Drug Administration under the Public Health Service Division received a nod to procure 11 crore auto disable (AD) syringes for vaccinating people from the local JMI Syringes and Medical Devices through a direct procurement method. The BPC will purchase 80,000 metric tons of furnace oil, known as heavy fuel oil, from different countries under the G-to-G contracts.   Read Cabinet committee approves 4 proposals, including LNG import Of the proposals approved by the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase, the state-owned Petrobangla will import some 33.60 lakh MMBtu LNG (liquefied natural gas) from the international spot market through quotation. Vitol Asia Pte, Singapore, will supply the bulk LNG at a rate of $29.89 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). About the proposal, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said so far this has been the highest rate at which Bangladesh has to import LNG from international market. “We don’t there where the price will go up….the prices of both gas and liquid petroleum are rising fast... it’s a big concern for us,” he told UNB.   A proposal of the Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources to set up a 50MW solar power plant by a private sponsor received the approval. As per the proposal, the Joint Venture of (1) Hero Future Energies Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore and (2) Business Research International Corporation Inc. (BRIC), Panama will set up the plant in Terkhada area in Khulna and the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity over 20 years. Read Bangladesh signs MoU with Malaysia on LNG supply Nasrul Hamid said pharmaceutical company Reneta is the local agent of the BRIC. The BPDB will have to pay a total of Tk 1,328.90 crore to the sponsor company for the purchase of the electricity at a rate of 10.25 US Cents (equivalent to Tk 8.20) per kilowatt hour. Another proposal of the power division also received the approval of the committee to award a contract to J&C Impex Ltd., Dhaka, to procure and install the Hot Gas Path Inspection of the Gas Turbine of the 225 MW Shikolbaha Power Station at Chattogram at a contract value of Tk 102.94 crore. A proposal of the Food Directorate General of Food Ministry to import 50,000 metric tons of wheat from Singapore-based Agrocorp International Pte Ltd. at Tk 179.53 crore received the committee’s approval. The committee also approved proposals for awarding contracts for printing and supply of books for education boards, import of 30,000 metric tons of fertilizer and construction of a number of roads under the roads and highways department.

Eleven years have elapsed since Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) took the “Eastern Refinery Unit-2” project to enhance the country’s petroleum refining capacity, but there has been no headway in its implementation so far. According to official sources, BPC is now evaluating a technical offer of Technip, a French engineering company, which was engaged through an unsolicited process for creating Front End Engineering Design (FEED) involving Tk 371.81 crore for the proposed ERL unit-2 through a contract signed in January, 2017. “We’re now evaluating the technical offer of Technip to meet our compliances to be qualified before calling for a financial offer,” said Syed Mehedi Hasan, director, operation & planning of PPC.  Read: Quick energy supply: Cabinet approves 5-yr extension of special provision “Techmip has placed some 650 observations and we addressed most of them and negotiations are going on to settle the remaining 175 of them. Now we hope we'll be able to settle them within the current month,” he told UNB. The Unit-2 project was taken by BPC in 2010 to enhance the company’s capacity to 4.5 million metric tons by adding 3 million metric tons from the new one. Currently, the Unit-1, installed in 1968 by the same French company, has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million metric tons. Read BPC’s ballooning operations call for augmented manpower  Technip completed the FEED for ERL Unit-2 and then placed it to BPC for negotiations. Once the technical negotiations are completed, the financial offer of the Technip will be opened for the final negotiation to go for a contract, said the BPC director.   State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said he believes the evaluation and negotiations of Tecnip’s technical offer will be concluded within a week or two. “Then the French company will be asked to submit a financial offer for negotiations. If we accept the offer, we’ll proceed to award the contract to Technip,” he told UNB. Read FY21 ADP implementation: Power Division reaches 97.74% target, Energy Division 104.27% The whole process of implementation of the ERL-2 is being done under the Speedy Power and Energy Supply (Special) Act 2010 which allows his ministry to award any contract to any company without competing the bidding process. “We’ve preferred Technip for the project as it has a proven track record,” he said.