Bangladesh unable to refine Russian crude oil: Report

The country is not well equipped to refine the crude oil of Russia, says a report of the country's lone oil refinery, Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL).

A technical committee of ERL submitted a report to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) on Tuesday morning after reviewing the result of the oil sample test -- that was conducted in the ERL laboratory. 

Apart from giving opinions and reviewing the result, the 20-page long report also highlighted some technical issues.

BPC chairman ABM Azad told Prothom Alo on Tuesday night that the report says ERL is not able to refine the unprocessed oil of Russia by using its current infrastructure and equipment.

The technical team of ERL prepared the report. It will be informed to the sample collecting agency soon, he added.

Last month, the oil sample landed in Bangladesh from Russia and reached the ERL laboratory on 1 September. The technical committee, led by its general manager Raihan Ahmed with manager Samiul Islam as member secretary, reviewed the sample test result.

ERL managing director Md Lokman told Prothom Alo that they submitted the report to the BPC on Tuesday morning.  

Presently, ERL produces diesel, petrol and octane by refining the crude oil which is imported from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The refinery is capable of processing 1.5 million tonnes of oil a year.   

The price of oil has increased due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this dire state, some countries, including India and China, are purchasing oil from Russia at lower prices. Russia sent a proposal to Bangladesh to sell this unrefined oil in May.

However, Bangladesh is interested in purchasing refined oil, especially diesel. As of today, no proposal was made from the Russian side to sell diesel.