← Government Watch

Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla)

autonomous · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Md Arfanul Hoque
Role
Chairman
Annual budget
—
Staff
—
Established
1972
Legal basis
Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Minerals Corporation Ordinance No. 21, 11 April 1985 (merger of Bangladesh Oil and Gas Corporation and Bangladesh Mineral Exploration and Development Corporation); preceded by Presidential Order No. 27 of 26 March 1972 (BOGMC) and Ordinance No. 15 of 22 August 1974 (BOGC/Petrobangla short name); Government Order of 28 February 1989 formally confirmed Petrobangla short name and expanded mandate

Executing an emergency spot-LNG procurement strategy after the March 2026 Ras Laffan strike forced force majeure by all three long-term suppliers; May 2026 import mix is 8 spot / 3 contract (reversed from pre-crisis 2 spot / 9 contract) at ~USD 21.77/MMBTU spot price. Simultaneously allocating scarce domestic gas with power plants as first priority (935 MMCFD), leaving industrial demand 312 MMCFD short and fertiliser sector at 26% of need. Has submitted a Tk 26,000 crore emergency subsidy request to EMRD to cover import cost overruns through June 2026. BAPEX Bhola drilling (Sinopec-contracted, 5-well program, Tk 907 crore) targets 182 MMCFD pipeline contribution from 9 existing wells.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

Establishment: The 1972 Presidential Order No. 27 (26 March) created BOGMC; Ordinance No. 15 of 22 August 1974 reconstituted it as BOGC with the Petrobangla short name; Ordinance No. 21 of 11 April 1985 merged BOGC and BMEDC into the current Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Minerals Corporation; the Government Order of 28 February 1989 confirmed the Petrobangla short name and expanded mandate. Established_year set to 1972 (organisational lineage origin); legal_basis cites the 1985 ordinance as the current constitutional instrument. Chairman: Md Arfanul Hoque took charge ~17 February 2026 (head_since aligned to cabinet inauguration date per TBS report); predecessor Md Rezanur Rahman (joined January 2, 2025) was transferred to BPC chairmanship on 2 February 2026. 8/3 spot/contract cargo mix for May 2026: pre-crisis plan was 9 contract + 2 spot; post-force-majeure reversal is 3 contract (surviving) + 8 spot (sourced via competitive tender). LNG spot price: USD 21.77/MMBTU average for March-April 2026 (TBS), up from USD 10.18/MMBTU pre-crisis. Gas allocation: power plants 935 MMCFD priority; industries ~994 MMCFD vs 1,306 MMCFD demand (312 MMCFD gap); fertiliser 85 MMCFD vs 329 MMCFD demand (74% shortfall). BAPEX Bhola drilling: Sinopec International awarded five-well project (Tk 907.29 crore) covering Shahbazpur-5, -7, Bhola North-3, -4, and Shahbazpur North East-1; 9 wells already drilled projected at 182 MMCFD collective capacity. Staff count and BDT budget for Petrobangla corporate entity not publicly available in accessible form; subsidiary budgets embedded in EMRD ADP. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all material claims.

Sources