CNG stations to remain closed 6-11pm from today

CNG filling stations across the country will remain closed from 6 pm to 11 pm every day, instead of 6-10 pm, said a Petrobangla press release.

The new schedule will come into effect from today (March 1), said the release.

According to official sources, the current gas crisis forced the state-owned hydrocarbon corporation to issue the new instruction to the CNG (compressed natural gas) filling stations to increase their non-operational time by one hour.

On September 16 last year, the government had directed the CNG filling station owners to keep their pumps shut for 4 hours -- from 6 pm to 10 pm -- every day until further order against the nagging gas crisis across the country.

Energy industry insiders said the country has to import about 20 percent of its gas at high cost as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and re-gasify to supply the fuel to the local networks.

For the last few months, the price of LNG on the global market witnessed a sharp rise from $6 per MMBtu to over $30 per MMBtu.

"The recent war between Russian and Ukraine has created further volatility on the global market which ultimately forced the authorities concerned to take such measures to reduce supply at CNG pumps," said an energy industry insider.

Meanwhile, Farhan Noor, general secretary of Bangladesh CNG Station Owners Association, said that Petrobangla has assured them in a meeting last month that they would mention a specific period of time as how long the new instructions on pumps closing will remain effective.

"But Petrobangla's new notice lacks any such indication and we're frustrated with the new notice," he added.