Petrobangla has sent a proposal to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) to increase the price of liquefied natural gas (CNG) used in power generation and vehicles.
An official of the state-owned company told bdnews24.com that the proposal also highlights the new prices of gas in the power and CNG sectors.
However, Petrobangla Chairman Md Abdul Mannan said that the proposal sent to the ministry is intended to increase the margin for CNG station owners.
Petrobangla’s proposal calls for raising the price of gas used in power generation to Tk 25 per cubic metre and the price of CNG used in vehicles to about Tk 65.
According to the latest order from the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Jul 2, the current price of gas used in power generation is Tk 15.50 per cubic metre.
This means the proposal includes a price hike of Tk 9.50 per cubic metre, or about 61 percent.
According to the BERC order, the price of gas per cubic metre for CNG consumers is Tk 38. The current pump price of CNG for vehicles, including the margin for station owners, is Tk 43
If that price is increased to Tk 65, it will be a hike of Tk 22 per cubic metre, or about 51 percent.
The proposal to increase the price came to light amid a decrease in gas supply to the national grid due to a fire and technical malfunction at the floating LNG terminal in Moheshkhali.
The gas supply crisis is disrupting home cooking due to the prevalence of gas-powered stoves. The lack of gas is also hampering production at factories and power plants. Long queues of vehicles have been seen waiting at CNG stations.
What the Petrobangla Chairman Says
Asked about the proposal to increase gas prices on Friday, Petrobangla Chairman Mannan told bdnews24.com that the issue is not about increasing gas prices in general.
According to him, CNG station owners came to Petrobangla stating that their profits had decreased due to their margins not having increased in some time. The station owners also warned they could go on strike.
Mannan said, “I will send their proposal to the ministry.”
Asked if the price of gas used in homes or power generation would go up along with the price of CNG, he said: “I am not saying that the CNG price will increase either.”
Stating that the demands of the station owners have been sent to the ministry for consideration, the chairman said: “They are making demands. Now what do people do if they have demands? It is only being sent for consideration.”
He said, “It has probably been sent. Let me see what we can discuss. Otherwise, we will write that we will not increase the price of CNG.”
However, according to another Petrobangla official, a proposal to increase the price of CNG in both the power generation and vehicle sectors has been sent to the EMRD.
Prices Per Sector
According to the BERC order on Jul 2, the price of gas per cubic metre in power generation is Tk 15.50.
The price of up to 50 percent of the permitted load of old captive electricity customers is Tk 31.50 per cubic metre. For new customers, or old customers using beyond this amount, the price is Tk 42.
The price of gas per cubic metre in fertiliser production is Tk 29.25.
The price for up to 50 percent of the permitted load for old industrial customers is Tk 30. For new customers, or old customers using beyond this amount, the price is Tk 40.
The price of gas per cubic metre in the tea industry is Tk 11.93, for commercial customers it is Tk 30.50, and for metred residential customers it is Tk 18.
The price of gas per cubic metre for CNG customers is Tk 38. The pump price for vehicles has been maintained at Tk 43 after adding the margin for station owners and other costs.
Petrobangla’s Reasoning for the Price Hike
According to Petrobangla’s calculations, the average purchase price of domestic and imported gas combined was Tk 31.65 per cubic metre in the 2025-26 fiscal year. In contrast, the average selling price was Tk 23.63. This resulted in a deficit of Tk 8.02 per cubic metre.
According to the company, the cost of importing LNG has increased further due to the conflict in West Asia. The average purchase price of gas per cubic metre from January to March was Tk 27.64, which increased to Tk 45.79 from April to June. During that period, selling gas at the previous price resulted in a loss of Tk 21.82 per cubic metre.
According to Petrobangla, the company’s total financial deficit in the 2025-26 fiscal year is about Tk 165 billion. Against this, the government has provided subsidies of Tk 146 billion.
Fears of Increasing Import Dependence
According to Petrobangla, domestic gas fields once produced about 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas daily. Now production has come down to about 1.65 billion cubic feet per day, and about 30 percent of the total gas consumption in Bangladesh came from imported LNG in the last fiscal year.
The agency predicts that the share of domestic production could drop to 30 percent by 2030. By then, about 70 percent of the total supply could be based on imports.
Despite the in-principle approval of the EMRD, Petrobangla’s proposal will not be effective immediately. A formal application will have to be made to the BERC to change the gas price. The commission will decide after reviewing the application, conducting financial analysis, and organising public hearings.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/petrobangla-wants-to-hike-cng-price
