Finance minister to hold urgent meeting on diesel and octane imports this afternoon

Urgent meetings of the cabinet committee on economic affairs and the cabinet committee on public procurement are being held today, Saturday, despite the government holiday, to discuss the import of 1.7 million tonnes of fuel oil. The meetings, to be held virtually at 5:15 pm, will be chaired by the head of both committees, finance and planning minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The proposal to import a total of 1.7 million tonnes of various types of fuel oil will first be presented at the cabinet committee on economic affairs meeting for policy approval. If approved, it can then be ratified at the subsequent meeting of the procurement committee.

Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have created instability in the international fuel market. In this context, ensuring fuel stock in advance is considered extremely important, which is why an urgent meeting has been called, according to sources from the power, energy, and mineral resources ministry.

At the procurement committee meeting, a proposal may be presented to import 1 million tonnes of diesel and 100,000 tonnes of octane directly from UAE-based DBS Trading House FZCO. In addition, a proposal may be presented to import 100,000 tonnes of diesel from another UAE company, Maxwell International SPC, and 500,000 tonnes of diesel from Kazakhstan’s Kazakh Gas Processing Plant LLP.

On 31 March, a proposal to import a total of 260,000 tonnes of fuel oil was also approved at the Procurement Committee meeting.

According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), diesel demand this April is nearly 350,000 tonnes. Of the 1.7 million tonnes proposed today, 1.6 million tonnes is diesel. If approved, these fuels are expected to enter the country in May and June. However, there are several steps involved: after approval by the Procurement Committee, BPC will obtain performance guarantees (PGs) from the companies, then open letters of credit (LCs) and issue work orders to the companies.

When contacted, Monir Hossain Chowdhury, Joint Secretary and spokesperson for the power, energy, and mineral resources ministry, told Prothom Alo over phone that the government has called the urgent meeting to enhance fuel security. He noted that there is no shortage of octane in the country, with at least three months’ supply available. There is also no diesel shortage for this April.