Sawt Falasteen - Bangladesh rations fuel as Mideast war deepens energy crunch

The country of 170 million people imports 95 percent of its oil and gas needs.

Following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Tehran's retaliatory strikes throughout the Gulf, the national oil company, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), restricted fuel sales for most vehicles.

Authorities capped fuel purchases for several types of vehicles as panic buying and hoarding spread following warnings of possible supply disruptions.

For example, motorcyclists are now limited to a maximum of two litres (0.5 US gallons) per tank.

"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 refuelling, triggering unrest.

Following the death of Nirob Hossain, 25, angry crowds torched three buses and vandalised 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 litres," said motorcyclist Md Al-Amin, 45.

"My tank holds eight litres, 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 litres 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.

Due to the current tensions, five of the country's six fertiliser factories have been closed until March 18, an official with the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Ahsan Quddus Kuntal, told AFP.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST