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With prices climbing, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is likely to incur losses. Audit data show that over the last decade, BPC incurred losses in just one fiscal year -- Tk 2,705 crore in FY22 -- when domestic prices were kept below import costs as the Russia-Ukraine war drove up global oil prices.

Although the subsidy-backed pricing comes with trade-offs, the government has chosen this time to bridge the gap through the state exchequer, according to officials involved in the proceedings.

While the latest decision offers short-term relief to consumers and businesses, it risks straining public finances and complicating future price adjustments, especially if global volatility persists, the officials added.

They added that the move was driven by two priorities: providing relief to the public and curbing hoarding, which the government views as a major factor behind the current shortages at filling stations.

As of yesterday noon, district administrations seized 87,700 litres of illegally hoarded fuel in nationwide drives over the previous 24 hours. And over the month of March, authorities recovered 2.96 lakh litres of hoarded fuel during 3,559 drives and filed 1,244 cases across the country, Energy Division spokesperson Monir Hossain Chowdhury said at a Secretariat briefing yesterday.

He noted that courts fined Tk 84.51 lakh and sentenced 19 people during the month-long drive.

According to the briefing, 2,284 government officials have been appointed as “tag officers” to monitor filling stations nationwide.

The government has, meanwhile, maintained that there is no supply shortage.

As of yesterday, stocks stood at 1,28,939 tonnes of diesel, 7,940 tonnes of octane, 11,431 tonnes of petrol, and 44,609 tonnes of jet fuel, with regular consignments on the way.

The ministry spokesperson also mentioned that there is a plan to roll out the “fuel pass” system this month.

The system would operate through a digital platform recording vehicle registration details, purchase time, and fuel quantities, allowing authorities to monitor distribution more closely.

“We are already developing an app. We hope to launch it on a trial basis in one or two locations within a week,” he said.

Monir added that district administrations have been informed, and in some areas they have already begun implementing the system manually on their own initiative.

“It is not easy to implement. Bringing so many people under a single system at once is challenging. So we plan to initially target specific categories of vehicles and move to an effective stage within a week,” he said.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission said yesterday that it will announce the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tomorrow at a press conference.

The prices are set in line with Saudi CP benchmarks each month.