BERC to hold public hearing on gas price for fertilizer Oct 6

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to hold a public hearing on gas price for fertiliser sector on October 6 as the Energy Division endrosed the Petrobangla's moves to implement a fertilizer-specific tariff hike-pending final approval as per IM F's condition.

According to the proposal, Petrobangla wants to raise the price of additional gas supplied to fertilizer plants from Tk16 to Tk40 per cubic metre.

However, the gas distribution companies have already submitted a category-specific pricing plan, citing the need to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet rising demand.

Gas and fertilier sector was always a subsidised item, that's why fertilizer gas prices were Tk4.45 per cubic metre in 2019 and gradually increased to Tk16.

Petrobangla's data shows, fertilizer plants received an average of 116 MMCFD over the past year, forcing prolonged closures and costly fertilizer imports.

Petrobangla is now supplying 2,453 mmcfd, against a demand of 3,800 mmcfd.

Petrobangla warned that meeting fertilizer demand through LNG imports could require up to Tk6,000 crore in annual subsidies.