Price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has decreased by Tk 6.33 per kg to Tk 118.54 from the previous price of Tk 124.85 per kg for the month of March. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced its latest price through a press release on Thursday. As per the new price, 12kg LPG cylinder cost has cut by Tk 76 as a retail consumer will get it at Tk 1,422 instead of previous price of Tk 1498 (including VAT). LPG prices for other sizes of cylinders – from 5.5kg to 45kg – will go down rationally, said the  BERC press release. An official of the BERC said that the prices witnessed such fall due to a decline in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price). Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $790 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $733 per MT with increase by $57 per MT, he added. Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from Middle-East Market on the basis of Saudi CP. As per the BERC decision, the price of “auto gas” (LPG used for motor vehicles) also decreased to Tk 66.22 per litre (including VAT) from previous Tk 69.71 per litre, down by Tk 3.49 per litre. The new prices will be effective from 6 pm today (2 March, 2023). Read more: 12kg LPG cylinder to cost Tk 46 more The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain the same as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5 per cent. The LPG price witnessed the highest price at Tk 1,498 (per 12kg cylinder), in the local market in February this year following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. Normally, the BERC Chairman announces the LPG price at the beginning of every month through a virtual press briefing. This time, there was no press briefing as four members out of five including the BERC chairman recently retired from their jobs after expiry of their contracts with the government. New chairman has not been appointed yet, said a BERC official.

Market monitoring teams of Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection (DNCRP) have found that 12 kg LPG is being sold at between Tk 1,600-Tk 1,800 in the market instead of Tk 1498, fixed by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). The BERC fixes the price of LPG at the beginning of every month as per law. “From LPG operating companies’ selling points to retailers’ selling points—everywhere the products are being sold at inflated prices”, said A.H.M. Shafiquzzaman, Director General (Additional Secretary) of the DNCRP while holding a meeting with LPG operators, dealers and retailers at the DNCRP headquarters in the city on Wednesday. Against the allegation of the DNCRP, all the LPG operators, dealers and retailers were blaming each other. In addition, the LPG operators were also blaming the dollar crisis, devaluation of local currency and banks’ reluctance in opening LC while the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) was blaming inaction of the BERC and DNCRP for anarchy in the LPG market. “We have to pay banks Tk 106 as dollar exchange rate against the previous rate of Tk 85”, said Mahbub Alam of Meghna LPG. He said the freight charge of shipping has gone up to$120 from $90 per tonne while costs of electricity and transportation have increased. “All these have pushed up our production costs, but BERC is not considering such costs while it announces price every month”, said Jakaria Jalal, head of marketing of the Bashundhara LPG. Representatives of dealers and retailers said that the BERC has not increased the margin of dealers despite all their costs having gone up. BERC secretary Khalilur Rahman disagreed with the allegations of the LPG operators and dealers saying that the regulator has asked them for submitting valid documents of their cost escalation. Read more: 12kg LPG cylinder cost declines by Tk 65 “But none of the dealers and LPG operators submitted the valid documents. Rather they sought more time in this regard”, he added, without any valid documents, BERC cannot consider their claims of cost escalations. CAB representative Kazi Abdul Hannan said both the BERC and the DNCRP substantially failed to protect the rights of the consumers. The consumers are being the ultimate victims and they are paying the price of the regulatory bodies’ failure, he added. The Director General of the DNCRP said his office will submit a recommendation to the government’s higher authority to take further action in this regard. He said it will be unwise to take action against companies like Bashundhara whose market share is over 20 percent. “If we stop their production, do you know what will be the impact on the market?” he told a reporter responding to his question about the non-action by the DNCRP. He also said that the ground reality is that the BERC raised the 12 kg LPG price by Tk 266 for the current month. But the price has gone up further in the local market. “If again the LPG price is raised by Tk 300, the market will not be cool. Rather, market operators will raise it further. We experienced this in the case of sugar price”, he said.     

Price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has substantially increased by Tk 22.15 per kg to Tk 124.85 from the previous price of Tk 102.70 per kg for the month of February. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced its latest price through a press release on Thursday. As per the new price, 12kg LPG cylinder cost has increased by Tk 266 as a retail consumer will get it at Tk 1498  instead of previous price of Tk 1,232 including VAT. LPG prices for other sizes of cylinders – from 5.5kg to 45kg – will go up rationally, said the  BERC press release. An official of the BERC said that the prices witnessed such an excessive rise due to huge increase in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price). Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $599.59 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $790 per MT with increase by $190.25 per MT, he added. Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from Middle-East Market on the basis of Saudi CP. Read more: 12kg LPG cylinder cost declines by Tk 65 As per the BERC decision, the price of “auto gas” (LPG used for motor vehicles) also increased to Tk 69.71 per litre including VAT from previous Tk 57.41 per litre, up by Tk 12.3 per litre. The new prices will be effective from 6 pm today (2 February, 2023). The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain the same as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5 per cent. The LPG price went up to Tk 1,439 (per 12kg cylinder), in the local market, following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. But this month of February witnessed the highest price since Russia-Ukraine began. Normally, the BERC Chairman announces the LPG price at the beginning of every month through a virtual press briefing. this time, there was no press briefing as four members out of five including the BERC chairman recently retired from their jobs after expiry of their contracts with the government.New chairman and or any member for the regulatory body has not been appointed yet, said a BERC official.  

Price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) has decreased by Tk 5.39 per kg to Tk 102.70 from previous price of Tk 108.09 per kg as Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has announced its latest price for the month of January. As per the new price, 12kg LPG cylinder cost has lowered by Tk 65 as a retail consumer will get it at Tk 1232 instead of Tk 1297. LPG prices for other sizes of cylinders – from 5.5kg to 45kg – will go down rationally, said BERC chairman Abdul Jalil, who announced the new prices at a virtual press briefing. Read more: Industries can now use LPG as a reliable energy solution: Speakers As per the announcement, the price of “auto gas” (LPG used for motor vehicles) also decreased  to Tk 57.41 per litre from previous price of Tk 60.41 per litre, down by Tk 3 per litre. The new prices will be effective from 6 pm today (January 2, 2023). The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain the same as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5%. Read more: 12kg LPG cylinder to cost Tk 46 more The LPG price went up to the highest, Tk 1,439 (per 12kg cylinder), in the local market, following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. LPG price in Bangladesh was the lowest at Tk 1,225 for a 12kg cylinder in January last year and it witnessed continuous hikes in February, March and April in 2022.

Speakers at a seminar have said that many industries can now use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a reliable energy solution to meet their needs in the nagging gas crisis. “The price of LPG is flexible and reasonable. If there is some policy support, operators are ready to take the challenge in this regard,” said Azam J Chowdhury, president of LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (Loab). The Hydrocarbon Unit, a subordinate body of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division organized the virtual seminar on Monday titled: LPG: An Alternate Energy Solution for Industrial Segment in Bangladesh. The Loab president said that if the country wants to keep the persistent 7 percent GDP growth, it must promote the LPG to grow its use in industrial and other sectors too as the natural gas alone cannot meet the growing demand. “We’ve been providing LPG to different industries which have been suffering for the gas crisis. Now, the demand for LPG is growing at 30-40 percent” he added.He said the LPG sector needs some policy support to overcome its challenges. Read more: 12kg LPG cylinder to cost Tk 46 more A huge quantity of LPG is transported through river routes where navigation is essential while there must be some cut in taxes and stop allowing industries to collect gas from CNG stations in a risky way, he said. He said setting up a dedicated deep sea port for LPG import should be top of the agenda to ensure a consistent supply of this petroleum fuel at a reduced cost as the current transport cost is so high. “The operator cannot import LPG through large vessels over a capacity of 5000 metric tons due to the absence of a dedicated deep sea port,” he said. Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Mahbub Hossain, additional secretary Humayun Kabir, head of marketing of Bashundhara LPG, and CEO of Omera Petroleum Tamzeem Chowdhury spoke on the occasion while Director General of Hydrocarbon Unit Abul Khayer Md. Aminur Rahman moderated the event. Jakaria Jalal said LPG can be suited for some specific industries depending on the design and its energy consumption. He said there should be a unified pricing formula for all the available primary options including LPG, LNG and other liquid petroleum. If the prices of all energy options are variable, then LPG will be much more sustainable, he added.

Price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) has increased by Tk 4.25 per kg to Tk 104.26 from previous rate of Tk 100.01 per kg as the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday (November 02, 2022) announced the new value of the petroleum gas for the month of November. As per the new price, a retail consumer will get a 12-kg LPG cylinder at Tk 1251 instead of previous price of Tk 1,200. The prices of LPG for other sizes of cylinders from 5.5 kg to 45 kg will go up rationally, said BERC chairman Abdul Jalil, who announced the new price at a virtual press briefing. Read more: LPG could be ready solution to energy problem for industries: Speakers As per the announcement, the price of auto gas (LPG used for motor vehicles) was increased too to Tk 58.28 per litre from previous price of Tk 54.33 per litre, up by Tk 3.95 per litre. The new price will be effective from 6 pm on Wednesday (Novemer 2). Jalil informed that the US Dollar rate was considered at Tk 106.25 in refixing the price of the LPG as private operators import it from Middle East through foreign currency. Read more: MoU signed for movement of Indian POL, LPG carrying vehicles through Bangladesh He said though the LPG price has substantially come down in the global market, consumers are not getting full advantage of the downward trend due to the high dollar price in the local market. Last month, the dollar exchange rate was considered Tk106.64.  The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain as usual as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5%. Read More Omera launches online system to provide doorstep delivery of LPG to customers in Dhaka The LPG price went up to the highest Tk1,439 (a 12kg cylinder) in the local market, following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February this year. The LPG price in Bangladesh was the lowest at Tk1,225 for a 12kg cylinder in January this year and it witnessed continuous hikes in February, March and April.

Speakers at a seminar titled: “Strategy Summit 2022: Energy Infrastructure” said that the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) has a lot of potential to be used as energy for industries.“As the locally supplied natural gas has very low pressure, the LPG can be used as alternative fuel,” said Tanzeem Chowdhury, chief executive officer of Omera LPG.Valor of Bangladesh organised the strategy summit at a city hotel on Saturday.The seminar was also addressed by Alamgir Morshed, CEO of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), Humayun Rashid, managing director of Energypac and research director of Centre for Policy Duologue (CPD) Dr Khandaker Golam Moazzem.At this stage, Tanzeem Chowdhury said, the only alternative ready for industries is LPG.Explaining the global and local energy situation, he said the Russia-Ukraine war has pushed up the energy price worldwide. Read: Hamid looking to send load shedding back to museum by August-endCurrently the price of LNG is $40 perMMBtu while the government is providing gas to the industries at $3 per MMBtu where the cost is covered by a huge subsidy.But LPG is being imported by the private sector at $22 per MMBtu, he said, adding that LPG can be used for power boilers, for heaters, and for some power generators as well.He said LPG is very competitive with LNG and it is the most viable option for industries.Dr Golam Moazzem said the cost and reliability of any energy is the major factor for competitiveness.He said that the capacity payment has been the major challenge for the government due to its unplanned implementation of power projects.Humayun Rashid said the country’s biggest challenge in the power and energy sector is the synchronisation of the power plants with power transmission lines.Many power plants are ready to generate electricity, but their transmission line is not ready, he observed.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has decreased by Tk 2.92 per kg. From now, 12 kg container will be sold at Tk 1219 instead of Tk 1254, down by Tk 35 from 6 pm on Tuesday. The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the price at a virtual briefing on Tuesday. The other quantity of LPG containers from 5 kg to 45 kg will rationally be sold at per the new rates, said BERC chairman Abdul Jalil. As per announcement, the price of auto gas for motor vehicles has been decreased to Tk 56.85 per litre instead earlier Tk 58.46 per litre. Abdul Jalil said though the price of LPG has come down on the international market, consumers are not getting full advantage of the downward trend due high dollar price in local market. The operators have to import LPG from international market. He also said that the BERC observed the local banks are not abiding by the dollar rate fixed by Bangladesh Bank. Rather, they set the dollar price depending on the demand and supply. Banks have calculated dollar rate between Tk 98 and 105 while Bangladesh Bank’s rate was much lower. Read: LPG price hiked by Tk 1 per kg “We have written to the central bank about the problem. Bangladesh Bank has yet not replied to our letter,” he said.    Jalil said the price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will have no effect as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5 percent. The LPG price went up to the highest Tk 1439 (12 kg) in the local market following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February this year. The LPG price was lowest at Tk 1225 for 12 kg in January this year and it witnessed continuous hike in price in February, March and April. Abdul Jalil said that globally the price of Saudi CP (contract price) has declined. Bangladeshi private LPG operators mainly import the gas from the Middle East market based on Saudi CP. The BERC, for the first time, fixed the retail-level LPG prices on April 12 after holding a public hearing to comply with a High Court order.

Omera Patroleum Limited (OPL), a leading LP Gas operator in the country, has introduced online e-commerce system to provide doorstep delivery of LPG to the customers within the capital. The OPL inked an agreement with My Fuel Pump (MFP) - an online platform to provide the service. The signing ceremony took place at the Head Office of Omera Petroleum Limited recently. Considering the vast majority of the urban population enticing into the e-commerce trends, Omera marks milestone by making its LPG products available in MFP’s exclusive app, website and dedicated hotline number for the convenience of the customers, said a press release of OPP. Customers can order their desired Omera LPG products anytime throughout the week and after receiving orders MFP will deliver the product at customer’s doorstep within a short time, it added. READ: LPG gets costlier further by Tk 48 per 12-kg container On behalf of Omera Petroleum Limited, Mr. Tanzeem Chowdhury, CEO of OPL and on behalf of My Fuel Pump Mr. Partha Pratim Choudhury signed the agreement. Mohammad Abul Kalam, CMO, OPL, Nafeez Imtiaz Karim, Brand Manager, OPL, Mohammed Tabarok Hossain, Head of Internal Audit were also present in the signing ceremony.

Consumers will have to buy Liquefied Petroliam Gas (LPG) at a higher price as the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has re-fixed the price of 12 KG LPG container at Tk 1439 from existing Tk 1391 with effect from 6 pm on Sunday. It means, a consumer has to pay additional Tk 48 to buy a 12kg LPG container while Tk 4 per kg for other quantities of the containers. Read: Revoke decision to hike in LPG prices: BNP Most consumers use the 12kg container while 18kg, 25kg containers are also available in the market. The new price will be effective from 6 pm on Sunday (April 3), said BERC chairman Abdul Jalil while announcing the price. According to the new price, the auto gas price has been raised to Tk 67.02 per liter from Tk 63.07. BERC chairman Abdul Jalil attributed the global price hike of Saudi CP(contract price) due to Russia-Ukraine war and also the increase in Taka-Dollar rate. Now each dollar’s exchange rate is Tk85.25 which was earlier Tk85.07, he added. Similarly, the importers have to pay higher amounts against a 7 percent VAT while overall cost is higher than earlier, said the BERC chief. He said the Saudi contract price (CP) has risen globally to $953-- from $911.25 per metric tonne. “It is hard to predict whether the price will go up or down in the current global situation”, he said. Read: LPG gets costlier by Tk 62 per 12-kg container According to industry insiders, the Saudi CP is normally announced at the end of every month to make it effective for the next month, and it takes at least 7-10 days for a shipment of the fuel to arrive in the country. Most Bangladeshi private companies import their bulk LPG from the Middle East on the basis of Saudi CP and market it locally. BERC, for the first time, fixed the retail-level LPG prices on April 12 after holding a public hearing to comply with a High Court order.