Dhaka, April 2 -- Ballooning energy cost overruns set budget amid the Gulf crisis as a hefty subsidy worth around Tk 45 billion or US$370 million is sought only to meet LNG-import bills for a single month of April.

Officials say the state-run Petrobangla has placed the subsidy demand with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), as global fuel prices spike and reserves a limited.

The April subsidy amount, as sought by the corporation, is more than 50 per cent of the entire subsidy amount worth Tk 89 billion it got from the MoF in the previous fiscal year (FY) 2024-2025.

"We sought the subsidy as we shall be importing eight liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from volatile spot market out of total nine LNG cargoes we have planned to import in Apr...