Govt likely to relax fuel purchase caps from today

The government is set to ease restrictions on fuel lifting for vehicles from today, amid mounting pressure on refuelling stations ahead of the Eid travel rush, while authorities insist that adequate supplies will be maintained throughout the holiday period.

Officials said all fuel pumps on highways will remain open around the clock for seven days before Eid and five days after, to facilitate uninterrupted travel.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said the decision to relax the cap was taken to reduce pressure on filling stations as millions prepare to leave cities for their hometowns.

Yesterday, refuelling pumps in different areas of Dhaka were crowded with long queues since morning. The line of cars at Meghna Filling Station in the Paribag area stretched past Shahbagh Metro Station to the nearby intersection.

In the evening, the situation remained almost the same, while nearby Purbachal Traders ran out of stock. Similarly, the queue at Trust Filling Station near Bijoy Sarani extended past Jahangir Gate.

Pump owners in the Khulna and Faridpur regions also suspended the lifting of fuel from the depots of the three distributors -- Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna -- worsening the situation in those areas. They alleged they were not receiving adequate supplies to meet the growing demand.

Sheikh Murad Hossain, senior vice-president of the Khulna Divisional Fuel Distribution Association, said pump owners have been receiving less than half of their required fuel for several days.

“For example, a pump with a daily demand of 10,000 litres has reportedly been supplied with only around 2,000 litres. In many cases, depots supply only one or two types of fuel instead of all, creating operational difficulties.”

However, some pumps along the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway were found operating as usual, with less pressure.

Following the experience of the past week, when people began panic-buying fuel following the war in the Middle East, the authorities imposed caps on daily fuel purchases for different vehicles, including two litres for motorcycles and 10 litres for private cars.

Sources said the government has decided to withdraw the cap during the Eid days, and a press briefing will be held today at 10:30am at the secretariat to provide details on the decision.

They added that the current fuel stock is sufficient to ensure smooth travel during the holiday period.

As of yesterday, the country’s diesel stock stood at 1.8 lakh tonnes, while octane and petrol stocks were around 16,000 tonnes each -- adequate for at least the next 15 days.

After visiting the Sayedabad and Gulistan bus terminals yesterday afternoon, Shaikh Rabiul assured that adequate fuel would be supplied for public transport and warned operators against cancelling or refunding advance tickets citing fuel shortages.

“There was an attempt to refund advance tickets due to oil issues, but we did not allow anyone to take advantage of the situation,” the minister said, noting that all tickets bought in advance will remain valid.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit said the government has taken steps to ensure a stable fuel supply during the Eid travel period.

“People travelling home for Eid should not face difficulties due to fuel shortages. We’ve already assured the transport sector that fuel supply will remain stable,” he told reporters after inaugurating gas supply from a new well at the Srikail Gas Field in Cumilla’s Muradnagar upazila.

THE SRIKAIL-5 WELL

The newly developed Srikail-5 well is currently producing about 8.1 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd), with output expected to reach 8-10 mmcfd, according to officials.

Discovered in 2012, the field has already produced about 160 billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas from four wells and still holds an estimated 145 BCF in remaining reserves.

The Srikail-5 well alone contains an estimated 40 BCF of gas, of which around 28 BCF is recoverable, according to the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited.

Officials estimate the recoverable gas to be worth roughly Tk 1,800 crore at current domestic prices, or Tk 6,832 crore when compared with liquefied natural gas import costs.

Amit expressed optimism that Bangladesh will achieve significant self-reliance in the energy sector within the next five years.

He added that the government is working to increase production under a 180-day action plan. “The plan aims to add 82 mmcfd of gas to the national grid from new and workover wells across the country within the timeframe.”

The minister further said Bangladesh’s heavy dependence on imported fuel exposes the country to global shocks. “When a country is import-dependent, any global crisis puts it at risk…. If we can strengthen domestic production, those risks will be much easier to manage.”

(Our Correspondents in Chattogram, Khulna and Cumilla contributed to the report.)