Business Desk :
The government is negotiating with Qatar for striking a long-term deal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its price has climbed up in the international market abnormally, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister.
He was speaking at an event titled ‘Meet the Overseas Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (OCAB)’ at the office of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority in Dhaka on Saturday.
“The government is also trying to import fuel oil from India as there is a sanction on the import of Russian oil now,” Rahman said.
Even if crude oil is imported from Russia, Bangladesh’s lone refinery, Eastern Refinery Ltd, has no capacity to refine the oil, he said.
Currently, the government imports finished petroleum products such as diesel and heavy fuel oil from 14 sources to meet the domestic demand.
The government is mainly looking for an alternative to local gas as more than 70 per cent of electricity is produced from gas-fired power plants, Rahman said.
Recently, LNG prices have surged in the international markets, forcing the government to stop buying the super-chilled fuel from the spot market.
The spot market is where commodities are traded for immediate delivery.
