ZCZC
BSS-33
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS-MEETING
Govt short lists 17 companies for buying LNG
DHAKA, Aug 28, 2019 (BSS) – The government has short listed 17 companies
for buying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet the growing demand of energy
in the country.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a draft of Master Sale
and Purchase Agreement (MSPA) with the 17 companies in connection to the
purchase,” Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told journalists at the
Secretariat in the capital this afternoon.
The Finance Minister said the government has already taken initiative to
procure LNG from the spot market apart from going on with long-term
agreements with various companies.
He said out of 43 companies which submitted their Expression of Interest
(EOI) as per the “Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act,
2010,” the cabinet committee has selected the 17 companies out of the
shortlisted 29 companies adding that the purchase will be made from the spot
market.
The government started importing LNG in August last year in the face of
falling domestic production.
Since then, Kamal said the government has spent Tk 14,000 crore to
subsidize the import adding that the price of imported gas was much higher
than the price which was produced locally.
Gas production cost stands at Taka 14 for per cubic metre, after the
imported LNG is mixed with the locally produced gas.
At the moment, the government sells per cubic metre at Taka 7.17.
BSS/ASG/GM/RY/1745 hrs