Pressure from domestic and foreign companies on the government to pay fuel prices is increasing.
The pressure from domestic and foreign companies on the government to pay the price of fuel is increasing. Letters are being sent in batches to pay the price quickly. The latest, yesterday, Sunday, Adani Power has sent a letter to the Power Department to pay their dues. In addition, US multinational company Chevron and LNG supplier Qatar Gas have also sent letters to the government. There is also pressure to pay the price of fuel oil. However, according to sources, BPC is somewhat relieved in importing fuel oil. Although they do not have a financial crisis, efforts are ongoing to deal with the dollar crisis, as LCs are not being opened easily due to this.
According to Power Department sources, India’s Adani Power Company Limited has warned them in a letter that if they make payments later than the stipulated time in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), they will have to pay a surcharge on the amount owed. As a result, Adani’s additional amount of 845 million US dollars will have to be paid by June this year.
According to sources, Adani Power has raised the bill to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) chairman by sending an official letter to the power department on Sunday. The company has already shut down one unit of its 1,600 MW coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand due to delays and complications in paying Adani’s dues.
Adani says that if PDB pays the bills of the monthly invoices raised within the stipulated time, then the surcharge on payment for the period from January to June 2025 will be withdrawn. Krishna Rao wrote on behalf of Adani – PDB should pay the dues within their proposed time. Then it is good for both parties. Adani has requested to pay all the dues between June 8, 2023 and January 6, 2025.
According to information received, a meeting was held between Adani Power officials and PDB on January 9 regarding the payment of dues. PDB has promised to pay the dues by June 2025. PDB Chairman Rezaul Karim told the media that a series of meetings are being held with the Power Department and the Finance Department to pay Adani’s outstanding dues. We will take action as per the ministry’s instructions, he said.
Meanwhile, the US multinational company Chevron owes Petrobangla about $220 million for the sale of gas. The company wrote a letter to the Energy Department on Thursday requesting payment of this huge amount. The letter said that at least $75 million needs to be paid quickly.
On the same day, the Energy Department received another letter from Qatar’s Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (known as Qatar Gas or Qatar Energy). The company owes Bangladesh $150 million for the sale of LNG under a long-term contract. This letter also urged the company to pay the outstanding dues quickly. Copies of the two letters for a total of $370 million have already been sent to Petrobangla.
Chevron Bangladesh President and MD Eric M. Walker signed the letter requesting Chevron to pay its dues. According to the letter sent to the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources, Chevron owes Petrobangla a total of $220 million for gas sales. Of this, $175 million is the price of the sold gas and the remaining $45 million is VAT and interest.
Petrobangla is importing LNG from Qatar under a long-term contract on a G2G basis. Qatar Gas has requested the prompt payment of the $150 million outstanding for its price. Among these, Petrobangla officials said that the most important thing is now being paid to Qatar Gas. According to them, Petrobangla is committed to paying its dues on time under the G2G agreement. Failure to do so could pose a major risk to supply management. The Department of Energy also wants to pay Chevron’s urgent request for $75 million as soon as possible. Chevron provides more than half, or 60 percent, of the daily gas supply to the national grid in the country. The company operates three gas fields in Bangladesh. These are Bibiana, Jalalabad, and Moulvibazar. Of these, the highest extraction is from the Bibiana gas field.
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