Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said it was important to consider the opinion of Bangladesh Bank in this regard.
According to BPC, One Bank, Islami Bank, Eastern Bank, Standard Chartered and HSBC used to open letters of credit (LC) for import of fuel oil, but they have not been doing so for more than two years.
BPC needs to open 17 to 18 LCs per month to import 500,000 tonnes of refined fuel and 100,000 tonnes of crude oil. At present, Sonali, Janta and Rupali banks are opening four to five LCs per month while the lead bank is opening only one LC.
Seeking anonymity, a BPC official said that BPC has a total outstanding bill of USD 350 million till April. Against such a backdrop, foreign suppliers have threatened to stop supplies unless the bills are settled soon.
