Over four-fold rise in gas price from next year

Gas price will go up from US$ 3.50 to US$ 7-8 per unit from April next year when liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be injected into the national grid.
According to a government presentation on LNG price, the rate of per unit gas will be Tk 27.97 from Tk 6.
Meanwhile, the government is set to sign a long-term agreement worth about $2.28 billion on September 25 with RasGas of Qatar to import 3.7 million tonnes of LNG annually from July 2018, Energy Division sources said.
It has been apprehended that the price of LNG would be driven by international market price, which is now around $US7 to $US8 dollar per unit.  
"The price of gas would be increased from Tk 6 to Tk 19 next year as the government to kick off the LNG import by this time from international market.
"We will blend the LNG with our local gas but the reality is price will be jumped rationally in line with the LNG importing price from the international market," Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur Md Faizullah told media following a meeting with the business people at his office on Sunday.
Petrobangla, the state- owned Oil and Gas Corporation, on Monday presented a paper before the business people and sought their opinion in this regard, especially the pricing issue. Energy Adviser to the Prime Minister Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and senior official were present.
"Business people have expressed serious concern over the 'price shock' in local market in future and suggested the government to go for serious ground work in this regard," a senior official of the Petrobangla told the Daily Observer. Journalists were not allowed to hear the discussion although the government is going to take such a huge decision without ensuring  minimum transparency in this sector.
"Energy prices must be fixed in a transparent manner. The price of one energy type should not be controlled or adjusted by the price of another one. Integrated plans are needed to govern the sector. Unfortunately, we do not see such a thing is happening here. I asked many people about the pricing and everybody kept mum�." energy expert and BUET Professor Dr M Tamim told the Observer.
He said there is no doubt over the issue that costly LNG will increase the gas price by 2.5 folds and which will raise up to 3 folds in the next 10 years.
"Fixing the energy prices in Bangladesh will get tougher in the future. Many factors including international market, subsidy, the usage pattern of energy resources, loan policy, and overall improvement in efficiency will likely have a direct impact on adjusting the price. So, predicting the price of the energy might appear as a challenging task for everyone. However, the price predictability is extremely important for Industries, especially for electricity," he remarked.
 "Before taking the mammoth work, government should do more ground work in this regard like to form public opinion and acceptability about it beforehand," MCCI president Nihad Kabir had earlier said.
MCCI president said depletion of gas reserves is one of the biggest hurdles that the businesspeople are now facing in Bangladesh. "It is too costly and will lead us to some price shocks", Nihad Kabir told The Daily Observer.
"Government should at first gather public opinion before taking such a decision," she said.