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The government is set to clear all outstanding payments worth US$ 72.40 million for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) purchases from QatarEnergy by tomorrow (Wednesday).
The issues regarding the payment of arrears were resolved at a meeting in Petrobangla on Monday.
Chevron Bangladesh has recently received its outstanding payments from the state-owned Petrobangla. An official from the US company stated, "We have received all our outstanding bills from the government in recent weeks." High-ranking officials from Petrobangla, including its chairman, director of finance, and representatives from Qatar Energy, attended the meeting.
Energy division officials mentioned that settling the arrears payment would facilitate a productive discussion between Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Chief Adviser Dr. Mohammad Yunus on Tuesday.
Professor Yunus and Energy Adviser Dr Fouzul Kabir are currently in Doha to attend Earthna Summit 2025.
The Director of Finance at Petrobangla, AKM Mizanur Rahman, stated that the state-owned entity paid $35 million on Monday, $5.0 million on Tuesday, and $32 million is scheduled to be paid by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) on April 23, 2025.
LNG payments under the long-term contract with the government were due on March 24, April 9, and April 25, 2025.
Mr. Rahman mentioned that the payment of energy bills has been regularised as part of the interim government's strategy to prioritise energy bills and reduce unnecessary projects. Petrobangla has received approval from the Ministry of Finance to borrow Tk20 billion from Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to pay the energy bills. Additionally, Petrobangla has received Tk15 billion to cover its subsidy from the MoF recently.
Petrobangla currently has $232 million in dues for LNG purchase bills.
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