Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has sought a total of Tk 8,076 crore budgetary allocation as subsidy from the government to offset its operational losses incurred due to recent rise in global oil prices.
The state run agency submitted a proposal in this regard to the finance ministry requesting the government to sanction the additional fund for subsidy in the upcoming national budget. When asked, Finance Secretary Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury told The New Nation yesterday that his ministry would examine the proposal first and then take decision accordingly.
“If BPC’s demand seems to be reasonable, we may consider the proposal,” he added.
Since fiscal 2008-09, the government provided Tk 30,986 crore financial support to BPC to recoup its losses incurred for keeping the prices of petroleum products low in local market. As on June 2017, BPC owed Tk 3,293 crore to state banks.
Officials said BPC is facing Tk 30 crore loss per day as domestic oil prices were not adjusted in line with the recent rise in global crude oil prices, which hit above US$70 dollar a barrel this month from US$30 dollar a barrel in early 2016.
Strong compliance of supply cuts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia have supported the oil price hike in global market.
“We sought the subsidy to minimize the losses of BPC,” Chairman of the Corporation Md Akram Al Hossain told The New Nation yesterday.
Presently, the Corporation is incurring a loss of Tk 12.30 per litre on the sales of furnace oil, Tk 8.90 per litre on diesel and Tk 7.0 per litre on kerosene. “We wrote to the finance ministry to set aside Tk 8,076 crore as fuel subsidy in the budget for the upcoming fiscal. BPC will require the subsidy due to rise in global oil prices,” he added.
Perennially a losing concern, BPC for the first time in fiscal 2014-15 earned profit to the tune of Tk 5,268 crore.
BPC made Tk 7,000 crore profit in 2015-16 and Tk 7,334.11 crore the fiscal 2016-17. Officials said BPC managed to make such a hefty profit in three consecutive fiscal years following drastic fall in the fuel price on the global market.
