National Budget 2026-2027
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today proposed allocation of Tk Tk 2,349 crore in the national budget for Energy and Mineral Resources Division to strengthen energy security in the country.
“The government has undertaken a range of initiatives to strengthen energy security by intensifying oil and gas exploration activities, increasing domestic production, expanding petroleum refining capacity and diversifying import sources,” he said.
The minister said this while placing a Tk 9.38 lakh crore national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2026-27 in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) this afternoon.
He said that model production sharing contract (PSC) has been revised while safeguarding national interests to attract offshore exploration and production activities and ensure participation by international oil companies (IOCs), as a new offshore bidding round was announced to facilitate oil and gas exploration in offshore areas.
“We are prioritising exploration and 72 production of natural gas both onshore and offshore to strengthening domestic capacity through Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX),” he said.
Chowdhury said that plans were adopted to undertake 270 km of geological surveys, 700 line-km of two-dimensional (2D) seismic surveys and 700 square kilometres of three-dimensional (3D) seismic surveys during FY2025-26 to FY2027-28.
He said the BAPEX also plans to drill 69 wells and carry out work over operations on 31 wells using its own drilling rigs.
“Nine shallow-water blocks and fifteen deep-water blocks have been opened for international the IOCs, where exploration activities will be undertaken under production-sharing agreements,” the minister said.
In the budget speech, he said that initiatives were taken to procure two new exploration rigs for BAPEX to enhance national exploration capacity, adding measures are being taken to establish cost-effective and sustainable infrastructure to maintain energy prices at affordable levels, while initiatives were undertaken to develop ‘Strategic Energy Reserves’ and related storage infrastructure.
The minister said an additional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Moheshkhali is under review alongside the two existing floating LNG terminals.
“An action plan is being formulated to supply gas from Bhola region to the national grid. Initiatives are being undertaken to attract new investment through increased private sector participation, investment-friendly policies and the expansion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the energy sector,” he said.
The government adopted a phased plan to establish a new crude oil refinery with an annual refining capacity of 50 lakh tonnes in Chattogram or another coastal industrial zone, he said.
The minister said apart from this, steps were taken to establish the Second Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL-2) with a capacity of approximately 30 lakh tonnes.
“A Smart Fuel Distribution Monitoring System has been introduced in 2,722 fuel tank lorries to strengthen monitoring of fuel transportation. Measures have also been undertaken to operationalise the Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility for petroleum unloading,” he said.
The production target of 6 lakh tonnes of coal and 14 lakh tonnes of stone has been set for FY2026-27 to ensure the optimal utilisation of the country’s mineral resources, he said.
Considering the importance of the power and energy sector, Chowdhury proposed a total allocation of Tk 17,345 crore for the ministry in the fiscal year 2026-27. In the fiscal year 2025-26, the allocation for this sector was Tk 16,952 crore.