Bangladesh to procure 1.4m tonnes fuel oil from 7 countries in first half of 2025

Bangladesh will import about 1.43 million tonnes of fuel oil from seven countries - India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman - between January and June 2025 at a cost of about USD 9.6 million or approximately Tk 114.79 billion.

The Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) approved a proposal on this matter at a meeting of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on Thursday with Finance Adviser Saleh Uddin Ahmed in the chair.

According to sources, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) received approval in principle at a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Economic Affairs on 24 October to import this refined fuel oil, which will be imported through G2G (government-to-government) channels.

PetroChina, China International United Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd (UNIPEC), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Indonesia’s BSP, Malaysia’s Petco Trading Labuan Company Limited (PTLCL), Thailand’s PTTT, Oman’s OQ Trading (OQT), the UAE’s Emirates National Oil Company Limited (ENOC) will supply the oil.

According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, 880,000 tonnes of gas oil, 190,000 tonnes of Jet A-1 fuel, 75,000 tonnes of mogas, 250,000 tonnes of furnace oil and 30,000 tonnes of marine fuel will be imported.

The Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase also approved two proposals separately to repair a metre-gauge railway track and construct a new one.

Train movement has remained stopped on the 34-km metre-gauge track of the Sylhet-Chatak Bazar section after floods damaged the railway tracks extensively in 2022. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a project on 11 April 2023 to renovate the railway tracks at a cost of a little over Tk 2.17 billion. The implementation period of the project is from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026.

It was a proposal of the Package – WD1: Rehabilitation of Sylhet to Chatak Bazar Section (Metre Gauge Track) of Bangladesh Railway, heavily damaged by Flood 2022. Four companies submitted tenders and all of those were responsive technically, but the tender evaluation committee (TEC) recommended Mir Akhter Hossain Limited, which was the lowest bidder. Eventually, the firm was awarded the work. Some 80 per cent of the project cost will be paid in US dollars and 20 per cent in Bangladesh currencies.

A procurement proposal of the construction of a dual gauge line parallel to the existing metre gauge line in the Dhaka-Narayanganj section project (1st Revised) was also approved.

Five tenders were also submitted and all of them were responsive, but GPT and Standard secured the work as the lowest bidders. The project cost was set at about Tk 3 billion.

The Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) also decided to procure 11 million tonnes of soybean oil and 10,000 tonnes of lentils.

The government floated tenders to procure 22 million tonnes of soybean oil but Super Oil Refinery Limited submitted a tender alone to supply 11 million tonnes of soybean oil, which was both financially and technically sound. So, this private company secured the order.

Procurement of soybean oil will cost a little over Tk 1.89 billion with a price of Tk 171.95 per kg. This edible oil will be procured from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to sell to families with TCB family cards at a subsidised price.

A proposal was also approved to procure 10,000 tonnes of lentils at a cost of about Tk 9.5 billion with a price of Tk 94.95 per kg. Shabnam Vegetable Oil Industries Limited will supply it.

The Advisory Council Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday also cancelled a previous decision to carry out the single point mooring (SPM) operation and maintenance task in Maheshkhali upazila of Cox's Bazar via the G2G channels and decided to go for a competitive method.

Previously, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd (CPPEC) was awarded the under G2G method.

The 'Installation of Single-Point Mooring with Double Pipeline' project was implemented at a cost of Tk 82.98 billion to offload fuel oil quickly and efficiently, as well as save money.

A full-fledged tank firm, a floating jetty in the deep sea, and two 110km-long parallel pipelines (220 km in total) were built under this project.