One vessel brings jet fuel, two more on the way with diesel

A vessel carrying jet fuel for aircraft has arrived at Chittagong Port from Singapore. The vessel, ‘MT Great Princess’, entered the jetty at 8:00 am today, Tuesday. It is carrying around 12,000 tonnes of jet fuel. The fuel has been supplied by Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said that as of 12 April, the country had around 22,000 tonnes of jet fuel in stock, which is enough to meet demand for about 15 days. With the new shipment, the stock has increased further.

However, demand for jet fuel in the country is relatively low. From 1 to 12 April, a total of 21,000 tonnes was sold, with a daily average of 1,758 tonnes. During the same period last year, the average sales were around 1,500 tonnes.

Meanwhile, two more vessels carrying diesel are scheduled to reach Chattogram at 11:00 pm tonight. The vessel ‘MT Torm Damini’ is carrying around 33,000 tonnes of diesel, supplied by Unipac Singapore Pte Ltd. At the same time, the vessel ‘MT Lucia Solis’ is bringing around 35,000 tonnes of diesel, the supplier is Singapore-based Vitol Asia.

Diesel accounts for the largest share of fuel used in the country—about 63 per cent. It is heavily relied upon in transport, agriculture, industry and power generation. According to BPC data, total diesel demand in the country for April is around 400,000 tonnes. To meet this demand, multiple shipments are planned throughout the month.

Earlier this month, on 3 April, 27,000 tonnes of diesel arrived on the vessel ‘MT Yuan Jing He’. On the same day at around 2:00 am, another 34,000 tonnes arrived on the vessel ‘MT Shan Gang Fa Xian’. With the addition of the two new vessels, pressure on supply is expected to ease somewhat.

However, the pressure has not fully eased compared to demand. From 1 to 12 April, total diesel sales in the country stood at 133,000 tonnes, with a daily average of 11,138 tonnes. According to sources at BPC and the energy ministry, as of 12 April, the country had 119,000 tonnes of diesel available for supply, which was enough to meet demand for about 10 days. With the new shipments, the stock is expected to increase by another three to four days.

When asked, BPC chairman Md Rezanur Rahman told Prothom Alo that several vessels have already arrived and more are expected. In addition to contracted suppliers, efforts are being made to import fuel from alternative sources as well. There is no risk of any fuel supply shortage this month.