Safiqul Islam (Jami)
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has returned to profit after raising the price of fuel. After the rise of fuel prices last November, the price of fuel oil fell again in the international market. Fuel prices have remained stable throughout December. In this situation, the Department of Energy has not yet given any thought to whether the price of fuel oil will be reduced. An official of the Department of Energy said that the adjustment of the price of fuel has not been discussed yet. An official of BPC said on condition of anonymity that as the price of oil has remained stable in the international market, now BPC is making a profit of around TK 3 per liter by selling diesel.
Earlier, the former energy secretary Md. Anisur Rahman said that the government has increased the fuel prices after monitoring the market for six months. The government will decide after analyzing the market. However, he did not say how long the analysis would last. On Saturday (December 25), oil was sold at 72.76 US dollar on the world market. The market situation says that the oil market will not change significantly next year. Despite a slight increase in the middle of the year, the average price of crude oil in the world market this year will be 66.91. Next year it will be 65.93 dollars. Next year it will be slightly lower at 63.4 and next year it will be 60.95 US dollar.
Although the world market is a bit chaotic due to the corona, oil price forecasts usually do not fluctuate. In other words, BPC is not expected to incur losses even if it decides to reduce prices now. Although BPC has not officially said anything, the officials of the company say that buying oil for 76 does not cause any loss to BPC. This rate changes from time to time depending on the situation.
Earlier, the Energy Secretary had mentioned in a seminar that the adjustment of oil prices was a political decision. He was responding to criticism from bureaucrats over the rise of fuel prices. On November 4, the government increased the fuel price. The new prices of diesel and kerosene came into effect from midnight that day. The price was increased from TK 15 to TK 65 per liter.
A press release issued by the ministry at the time said that the price of fuel oil was rising in the international market. Due to the rise in the world market, neighboring countries and other countries of the world are regularly adjusting the price of fuel oil. On November 1, the market price of diesel in India was Rs 124.41 TK or Rs 101.56 Rupee per liter. In Bangladesh it was 65 TK. Considering the current purchase price, BPC is selling diesel at TK 13.01 per liter and Furnace Oil at TK 8.21 per liter, resulting in a loss of around RK 20 crore per day.
In October, BPC supplied various grades of petroleum products at current prices, resulting in a total loss of TK 726.71 crore. Considering the overall situation, the government had only increased the price of diesel and kerosene from TK 65 per liter to TK 80 per liter. Sources say that BPC has earned more than TK 43,000 crore in the last five fiscal years. The government has deposited TK 5,000 to TK 10,000 crore in the state treasury from here in the last two fiscal years. Even then, BPC had a profit of TK 33,000 crore. But from June to November, the price was increased for a loss of TK 1,150 crore. Even if these prices are adjusted now, it is doubtful whether the amount of inflation in the market will decrease.
