Oil prices soar as Russia reduces production

Petrobangla, the state-owned oil, gas, and minerals corporation, is embarking on an ambitious plan to drill a total of 48 wells across different gas fields to add 618 MMCFD to the national grid by 2025. This endeavour is crucial given the current gas shortage being experienced by various sectors, including power and industries.

The decrease in fuel oil prices on the world market has led to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), a state-owned entity responsible for fuel oil import and marketing, returning to profitability. Based on the latest information, the Ministry of Finance projects that BPC will achieve a net profit of around Tk 4,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal year 2023-24. This stands in contrast to earlier projections during the budget formulation, which estimated a potential loss of over Tk 10,000 crore for BPC in the same period.

The government has decreased diesel and kerosene prices by Tk 2.25 per litre to Tk 106, effective immediately, under the automatic fuel pricing formula. However, octane and petrol rates remain unchanged at Tk 126 and Tk 122 per litre, respectively. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division issued a gazette on the revised petroleum prices. Introduced on March 7, the automatic pricing formula aims to regulate domestic oil prices monthly.

The successful commissioning of Single Point Mooring (SPM) facilitated the safe transfer of 40,000 tonnes of crude oil from Maheshkhali pumping station to Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL). The initiative, driven by the government's efforts, aims to streamline fuel transportation, saving Tk 800 crore annually.

Jamuna Oil Company Limited has reported a 21% increase in post-tax profit for H1 FY23–24. The company's unaudited financial report for Q2 reveals a post-tax profit of Tk 203.79 crore for the first half, compared to Tk 168.59 crore in the same period in 2023.

In Q2 of FY24, state-owned Padma Oil reported an 18% YoY decline in profit to Tk 71.6 crore, with an EPS of Tk 7.29, down from Tk 8.92. However, for the H1 period ending December 2023, Padma's profit rose 2.4% YoY to Tk 162.3 crore, and EPS increased to Tk 16.53 from Tk 16.13 in the same period in 2023.