No risk of fuel shortage as supplies remain adequate, ministry says

The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has said there is no shortage of fuel in Bangladesh, assuring that current stock levels and import arrangements are sufficient to meet demand and that there will be no disruption to fuel supplies in August.

The assurance was given on Wednesday (22 July) at an emergency press briefing held at the ministry's conference room at the Secretariat by Monir Hossain Chowdhury, Joint Secretary (Operations) and spokesperson for the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.

He said Bangladesh currently has sufficient fuel stocks to cover 31 days of diesel, 36 days of octane, 20 days of petrol, 20 days of jet fuel, and 25 days of furnace oil. He added that 180,000 metric tonnes of diesel are scheduled to arrive by 31 July, with a further 240,000 metric tonnes expected in August.
The briefing was called following recent media reports suggesting possible shortages of fuel and natural gas. The ministry's spokesperson alleged that rumours were being spread in an attempt to create an artificial sense of crisis over fuel supplies.

On natural gas, Chowdhury said daily demand stands at around 3,800 million cubic feet, while current supply is between 2,700 and 2,800 million cubic feet. He noted that the shortfall has existed for many years, but said the government has stepped up efforts to expand gas exploration.

He also said that gas supply had been temporarily affected by a mechanical fault at one of the country's floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), resulting in increased pressure at several CNG filling stations. However, he expressed hope that the fault would be repaired and normal gas supply restored within the next two days.