Staff Correspondent:

Riding on the upward adjustment of fuel oil prices under the automated pricing mechanism, state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) earned a profit of Tk2,050 crore in the fiscal year 2024–25, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said on Thursday (June 26 ).

The leading think tank also projected that BPC’s profit will decline to Tk615 crore in the upcoming FY2025–26 due to rising global oil prices.

The recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Iran, have pushed up international oil prices, which CPD says will squeeze BPC’s margins in the next fiscal year.

The disclosure came during a CPD dialogue titled “Power and Energy Sector in the National Budget for FY2025–26: Reflections on the Priorities for Energy Transition”, held at the BRAC Centre in Dhaka.

M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser at the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director at CPD, and other sector experts spoke at the event.

Alongside BPC, two subsidiaries of Petrobangla — Bapex and RPGCL — also turned profits in FY2024–25, CPD said.

According to CPD, BAPEX made a profit of Tk137 crore while RPGCL earned Tk41 crore largely due to increased gas prices at the industrial level.

Looking ahead, CPD forecasts Bapex’s profit to rise to Tk258 crore and RPGCL’s to Tk49 crore in FY2025–26. The expected increase is attributed to VAT exemptions on LNG imports and further gas tariff hikes.

In contrast, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) continues to face heavy financial losses.

CPD estimated that BPDB incurred a loss of Tk8,803 crore in FY2024–25 and is projected to face an even higher loss of Tk9,043 crore in FY2025–26.