The government will not make any profit out of imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) so that consumers get the new fuel at rational prices, said a minister.
In another measure for ensuring that the subscribers are not cheated at billing, the state-run Petrobangla received an order for updating the billing system so that they make payment for the same quantity of gas as they use.
"Check overbilling, anyway," State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) Nasrul Hamid said Monday in his directive for the government petroleum agency.
Mr Hamid was speaking at a view-exchange meeting at Petrocentre in the city with businesspeople to fix a working plan for supply of piped natural gas to industries and commercial entities after importing LNG.
Prime Minister's adviser on energy issues Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said businesspeople would be benefitted although the natural gas price would increase in course of time.
He recommended the use of efficient boilers, co-generation and tri-generation and waste heat recovery to stop misuse of the imported foreign fuel, LNG, which will be blended with local gas for use.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Hamid stressed a long-term planning for fixing the price of the fuel mix and its use.
A sustainable price management coupled with real-time data on blended LNG will help businesses chalk out a long-term business planning, he added.
Sources said the government will ink today (Tuesday) a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gunvor, Singapore, for LNG import.
This will be Bangladesh's fifth LNG agreement since the government decided on import of this substitute to make up for the depletion of natural gas reserves in the country conversely against a mounting energy demand.
The government plans to start LNG import in early 2018 and is making concerted efforts to move forward building LNG-import infrastructures.
Bangladesh's first LNG-import terminal, a 3.75-million-tonne-per-year FSRU, being developed by US-based Excelerate Energy, is expected to be commissioned in April 2018.
And a second one, also with a capacity of 3.75 million tonnes per year, being developed by Summit Group, is expected to be operational by end-2018.
Both the FSRUs will be located at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, and ownership of the vessels will be transferred to Petrobangla after 15 years of operations.
Petrobangla is also planning to set up at least two onshore LNG terminals, each with a capacity of 7.5 million tonnes per year, by 2025.
Energy secretary Nazimuddin, Petrobangla chairman Abul Mansur Md Faizullah, Power Cell managing director Mohammad Hossain, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) chairman Monwar Islam and leaders of different gas-guzzling industry sector spoke on the occasion.
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