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.