DHAKA: Bangladesh has implemented emergency fuel rationing as escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupts global energy supplies, leading to panic buying, long lines at gas stations, and public anger nationwide.
The move comes after recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf raised fears of major disruptions in oil shipments. Bangladesh, a nation of about 170 million people that imports nearly 95% of its oil and gas, has been particularly vulnerable to the resulting energy shock.
In response, the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) announced restrictions on fuel sales for certain vehicle types to curb hoarding and ensure wider distribution. Motorcyclists, for example, are now limited to purchasing up to two liters of fuel per visit.
"Consumers tend to buy more than they usually purchase" during times of crisis, BPC said in a statement. One man was killed on Saturday night in the southern district of Jhenaidah after an altercation with filling station staff over refueling, triggering unrest.
Following the death of Nirob Hossain, 25, angry crowds torched three buses and vandalized a filling station, police officer Md Mahfuz Afzal said. As soon as the restrictions took effect on Sunday, long lines of vehicles formed outside numerous gas stations in the capital, Dhaka.
"I waited for more than an hour to get two liters," said motorcyclist Md Al-Amin, 45. "My tank holds eight liters, and I usually fill up once a week, so now I'll have to come back the day after tomorrow."
AKM Ruhul Amin, a paediatrician, had just filled his sedan car but said it was not enough. "I already waited yesterday, and they closed the station just one car ahead of me," he said. "I was only able to buy 10 liters today; the government could at least allow us to fill up completely."
Ahmad Rush, an official with the distributor Meghna Petroleum Ltd., estimated that the number of customers had almost doubled.
"We opened at 7:30 this morning and were able to refuel 300 vehicles in three and a half hours," he said. BPC said that fuel deliveries were expected soon.
Meanwhile, the energy crisis is beginning to affect other sectors of the economy. Five of Bangladesh’s six fertilizer factories have been temporarily shut down until March 18 due to the current supply pressures, an official with the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Ahsan Quddus Kuntal, told AFP.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation said additional fuel shipments are expected soon, but authorities remain concerned that ongoing geopolitical tensions could further strain supplies in the coming weeks.
