বাংলাদেশের কথা

Picture credit: Tanzeena Meher & Syed Fazlul Karim Mujahid

International oil kingpin Chevron is interested to set up an LPG bottling plant in Bibiyana Gas Field area of Bangladesh. The Director (External Affairs) of Chevron Bangladesh, Mr Naser Ahmed, said that they have already sent a draft proposal to the Energy Division of the government. The proposal is currently awaiting approval. Mr Muhammad Imaduddin, Director (PSC) of Petrobangla expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative of Chevron. He said that they are currently discussing whether the project would be categorized under Product Sharing Contract or should it fall entirely under private sector. As a growing country the demand of LPG is massive in Bangladesh. Report show that 20,000 tonnes of cooking gas is produced domestically per year and another 80,000 tonnes are imported by private sector. Industry investors say that the annual demand in Bangladesh is approximately 500,000 per year. The demand for LPG in Bangladesh is increasing very fast due to a recent government ordinance

Maplecroft, in a recent report, stated that emerging economies in the South Asia have the highest financial risks related to tropical cyclones and flooding and other natural hazards alike. The risk analyst also claimed that according to their Natural Hazards Risk Atlas, the 10 countries which face greatest exposure to natural hazards include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Vietnam and Philippines. The financial risks for these countries are high since the trading hubs and cities are highly exposed to natural hazards such as cyclones and flooding, and the point is extended further for capability lack to recover from such natural disasters. Experts from Maplecroft also stressed those natural disasters in the aforementioned South Asian countries would not only have significant impact on their economic output, but also on foreign businesses as well. Maplecroft also warned of risks including social unrest, corruption and food security which could finally lead to political risk in the South Asi