5,000 tonnes of diesel arriving from India

An additional 5,000 tonnes of diesel is being transported to Bangladesh via pipeline from the Numaligarh Refinery in Assam, India. The fuel is scheduled to arrive at the Parbatipur Railhead Depot in Dinajpur on Friday, March 27.

This is the second batch of diesel being imported through the pipeline amid the global fuel crisis. Earlier, on March 13, 5,000 tonnes of diesel arrived through the same channel.

According to depot sources, diesel pumping through the pipeline began on Wednesday afternoon. It is expected to reach the Parbatipur depot storage facility within approximately 60 hours.

Depot manager Ahsan Habib said the regular diesel supply process from the Numaligarh Refinery is ongoing and is expected to arrive on schedule.

The Parbatipur depot currently has a storage capacity of 5.7 million litres, with existing stock at around 2.215 million litres. Additionally, stocks of petrol, octane and kerosene are also limited, with officials saying the current reserves can supply for a maximum of seven days.

It is known that a 15-year agreement was signed with India on October 22, 2017, to keep irrigation operations running and maintain normal vehicle movement in eight agriculture-dependent districts of the northern region. Under this agreement, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is importing diesel through the pipeline.

According to the agreement, there is a target to import a total of 180,000 tonnes of diesel by 2026. Diesel is being imported in phases, with total costs estimated at approximately Tk 1,462 crore. Part of this is being financed by BPC's own funds, while the remainder will be paid through bank loans.

Meanwhile, BPC has already submitted a proposal to the Energy Ministry to import an additional 50,000 tonnes of diesel through the pipeline over the next four months.