Bangladesh sends letter to India seeking additional fuel oil
If the war in the Middle East becomes prolonged, it may disrupt the import of fuel oil. Therefore, to ensure imports as per demand, the government is seeking new sources outside existing agreements. There has been expressed interest in importing additional fuel from India.
A formal letter regarding this was sent to the Indian government today, Wednesday. As a result, the supply of diesel may increase.
Minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud confirmed to reporters at the Secretariat today the matter of requesting increased fuel oil supply from India.
He said that fuel oil is imported from India through a pipeline, and in the current emergency situation, there has been a request to increase supply through this pipeline. The decision on how much can be increased will be made by India. Once they decide, it will be clear by how much the supply has increased.
Earlier, India's High Commissioner to Dhaka, Pranay Kumar Verma, met with the Minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources as a courtesy visit. Bangladesh regularly imports electricity from India.
Additionally, fuel oil is imported through pipelines and by sea in tankers. Furthermore, electricity from Nepal is imported to the country via India.
The minister and the Indian High Commissioner discussed mutual cooperation in the power and energy sectors between the two countries.
Following the courtesy meeting, India's High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma told reporters that the formal request letter from the Government of Bangladesh for the supply of additional fuel oil has been received.
This will be presented to the Government of India.
He also mentioned the long-standing cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh in the power-energy sector.
According to sources from Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), an agreement was made with Numaligarh Refinery Limited of India on 22 October 2017, to import diesel via a pipeline.
This was officially launched in March 2023. As per the agreement, 120,000 tonnes of diesel are expected to arrive this year, with an additional 60,000 tonnes potentially being supplied, though not on a mandatory basis.
Each shipment supplies 5,000 tons of diesel through the pipeline, with 10,000 tonnes having arrived in two phases by yesterday.
Outside of this, India's central corporation, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), started supplying oil to BPC in 2020. Between January and June of this year, 105,000 tonnes of oil are expected to be supplied, including 20,000 tonnes of diesel, 50,000 tonnes of furnace oil, 25,000 tonnes of octane, and 10,000 tonnes of jet fuel. IOCL supplies this fuel oil via sea.
Due to the global energy crisis, BPC proposed increasing oil imports from India to the Energy Department on 8 March.
The proposal suggests supplying 20,000 tonnes in four phases in March and 25,000 tonnes in five phases in April, with similar amounts in the subsequent months. Additionally, considering the distance, a request can be made to supply 120,000 tonnes of diesel in four shipments of 30,000 tonnes each by sea from India.