Bangladesh cuts annual oil import target

Bangladesh's government said on Thursday it has lowered its annual oil import target by 13 percent to 5.8 million tonnes, seeking to save money as exchange rates have been unfavourable. State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will reduce its oil purchases for the year and the Bangladesh Power Development Board will be cutting its electricity purchases from oil-fuelled power plants.
"The government has allowed privately owned power plants to import petroleum products and the decision is a cushion for us to save foreign exchange," said BPC Chairman Mohammad Abubakar Siddique. A senior official in the government's energy division said the measure should result in savings of about 10 billion taka ($120 million), which would bring the nation's fuel bill to around 450 billion taka. The taka has been in an extended decline against the dollar, losing 15 percent in 2011.