Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited

Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited is a Bangladesh government owned natural gas company responsible for supplying natural gas in the north-western part of Bangladesh.[3][4]

History

Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited was established on 29 November 1999 under Petrobangla.[5] The company would distribute natural gas in Rajshahi Division.[6]

In May 2008, the manager of Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited, Kazi Nowfel Anwar, bought a car with company money and registered it in his name.[7] When the matter came to light the car burned down inside the company garage and the insurance company refused to pay due to the suspicious circumstances of the fire.[7] In 2009, private power generation company GBB Power Limited was declared a defaulter for not paying the bills of the gas company.[8] The company defaulted again next year.[9]

In 2013, Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited installed a gas distribution network in Rajshahi by digging up the roads but did not repair the road which left them in a state of disrepair.[10] The city received gas connection in 2012.[11]

Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited, under managing director Abdul Mannan Patwary, asked for 2.58 billion taka from the government to establish a gas pipeline from Rajshahi to Saidpur.[12] It would be a 150 kilometer pipeline at a cost of 13.59 billion taka and is expected to be completed in December 2023.[13]

Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited asked for a raise to the price of gas leading Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission to hold a three-day public hearing at the Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management auditorium.[14] Petrobangla which supplies Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited and five other gas distributors in Bangladesh also wanted to raise the price of bulk gas.[14] The Ministry of Finance had been pressuring state owned companies to raise their revenue.[14] The companies sought to more than double the gas prices.[15] On 1 May 2022, Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited stopped natural gas supply in Rajshahi Division for two weeks.[16] Last month gas supplies were shut down during Eid in Bogra due to repair work by Gas Transmission Company Limited.[17][18]