Jamuna Oil signs deal with BM Energy to sell LPG

State-owned Jamuna Oil Company Ltd has inked an agreement with BM Energy (BD) Ltd, a Netherlands-Bangladesh joint venture, to sell liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at the former's filling stations.

Signed in Chattogram on Sunday, the deal is aimed at easing the suffering of people that they face when converting their vehicles into LPG-efficient ones.

Under the agreement, Jamuna Oil will set up LPG conversion workshops at their filling stations. It will receive a royalty of Tk0.50 for the sale of each litre of LPG.

The use of LPG as auto fuel has been growing in Bangladesh due to its cost competitiveness compared to octane, petrol, and diesel.

LPG is already a highly popular and admired fuel solution across the world for being energy-efficient and environment-friendly.

In Bangladesh, the business of LPG as autogas started in 2005 when Australia-based Petredec Elpiji set up the first filling station here.

Now, there are around 120 autogas filling stations across the country and the annual demand stands at 60,000 tonnes.

Jamuna Oil, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, was listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2007 and its paid-up capital is Tk110.42 crore.

The closing price of each share of the company was Tk149.80 at the DSE on Sunday.

From July to December of the current financial year, the company's earnings per share was Tk9.64, up from Tk9.35 during the same period in the previous year.

Until 31 January this year, the government owned 60.08% of the company's shares while institutional investors held 28.16%, foreign investors 1.06%, and general investors 10.7%.