Oil Price and Bangladesh

[masum iqbal]

Recent slide in the oil prices have created many areas of exciting opportunities. Some experts think that given these low energy prices, more economic growth can be achieved because it would lower production costs worldwide. This would be true more for emerging markets because these countries need more access to the energy market.
However, other experts are warning that low prices would discourage production and exploration of new fields. Petroleum production is already very expensive, particularly in the USA which is currently one of the largest producers of oil. The US shale oil boom will be adversely affected by the low price and world production of oil may not grow as a result.
In Bangladesh, diesel oil is heavily subsidized by the government so the current world conditions may be beneficial to the treasury. However, it is unlikely that gasoline prices would be affected even after the drop in international prices.
Bangladesh may take this opportunity as a breathing room in terms of rising energy prices. However, Bangladesh should also use this opportunity to develop more renewable resources and alternatives to fossil fuels.