Gas price hike a blessing for Bangladesh: Nasrul Hamid

Terming gas price hike a "blessing in disguise" for Bangladesh, State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid today said the government is now getting offers for deep-sea exploration.

The state minister made the remarks at a seminar on "Energy Transition- Global Context and Bangladesh"organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) in the capital.

"No party was found for it before. Badrul Imam (energy expert) in an opinion piece published in The Daily Star asked -- Why didn't we (the government) go for the exploration in the deep sea. We gave the tender, but there was no party then because the price of gas was very low at that time."

Now when the price has gone up, many parties are coming, the state minister added.

The state minister further said the government is going to open the market of petroleum products for private sector. The private companies will be able to import fuel by themselves, and sell their products by their own retail points or to the existing petrol pumps, he added.

Hamid further said the world is going into an energy transition period and Bangladesh is also thinking about the new fuel mix for power generation.

"We are prioritising the affordability of the people. About 1,000MW diesel-fired power plants will be phased out next June, those will not be renewed," he said.