Govt to allow private sector to import oil, gas

The government has decided to allow private companies to import fuel oil and LNG, announced State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.

The state minister also said the government also decided to keep suspended electricity generation from diesel-fired power plants from next year.

Nasrul made statements at a seminar organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh at Bidyut Bhaban in the capital on Saturday.

The state minister said, “The government, for the country’s energy transition, is giving importance to options that are affordable and sustainable.”

“This is why we have decided to stop production at the diesel-run power plants from June next year as it is one of the most expensive methods that we have.”

“Besides, we have also decided to allow private companies to import fuel oil and gas to address the current power and energy shortage,” Nasrul Hamid added.

Earlier in July, the authorities had suspended operations of diesel-run power plants in a bid to save dollars in the wake of a steep hike in oil and liquid gas prices in the international market.

However, the government was forced to backtrack from this move as frequent load-shedding plagued the country disrupting goods production and daily lives.