United News of Bangladesh

CNG pumps across the country will remain closed for a good six hours -- from 5pm to 11pm -- daily during Ramadan. From the beginning of Ramadan, all CNG filling stations in Bangladesh will remain closed for six hours from 5pm to 11pm until Eid-ul-Fitre instead of 6pm to 11pm, state-owned Petrobangla has announced. Petrobangla's latest decision to extend the CNG pump closure timing by an hour during the holy month comes in the wake of the volatility in the global energy market caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sources also told UNB that the ongoing energy crisis in several parts of the world, including Bangladesh, has forced the state-owned hydrocarbon corporation to issue the new instructions to the CNG pumps. Read: From Sunday, CNG pumps to stay closed from 6-10pm daily On September 16 last year, the government directed CNG outlet owners to keep their pumps shut for four hours from 6 pm to 10 pm and then extended the timing by one hour from March 1. Energy industry insiders say the country imports about 20 percent of its gas at high cost as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and re-gasify to supply the fuel to local networks. For the past few months, the price of LNG in the global market witnessed a steep hike -- from $6 per MMBtu to over $30 per MMBtu. “The recent war between Russia and Ukraine has created further volatility in the global market, which ultimately forced the authorities concerned to take such measures to reduce supply at CNG pumps,” said an energy industry insider. Read: Introduce tracking system for LPG, CNG cylinders: Nasrul Hamid  

After a flip-flop, the Bangladesh government has finally decided to keep CNG refuelling stations across the country closed for four hours daily from Sunday. The CNG pumps will remain closed from 6pm to 10pm daily from September 19, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said in a notification on Wednesday night. Read:Decision to keep CNG re-fuelling closed from 5 pm to 11 pm suspended Earlier, a decision was taken to keep the CNG refuelling stations closed for six hours, from 5pm to 11pm from September 15. But that decision was later shelved and the new one was taken only after consultations with the owners of CNG stations.