Another 7,000 metric tons of diesel arrive via India-Bangladesh pipeline

Another 7,000 metric tons of diesel have arrived at the Parbatipur Railhead Oil Depot in Dinajpur through the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline. This is the fourth consignment to arrive at the depot via the pipeline this year. A total of 22,000 metric tons of diesel have been transported from India to Bangladesh through the pipeline in these four shipments. A process is underway to bring an additional 40,000 metric tons of fuel oil through the pipeline in April.

Kazi Md Rabiul Alam, Manager (Operations) of Meghna Petroleum Limited, who is involved in this operation, confirmed the matter. He informed that the fourth consignment was fully delivered by 9:30 am on Tuesday, March 31. This diesel will be supplied to various districts in the northern region in phases. The process is underway to place a demand for 40,000 metric tons of fuel oil to be brought in April. He said this oil will arrive in 3-4 consignments.

Earlier, pumping operations began from the Indian Numaligarh Refinery Limited centre on Saturday evening to supply oil to the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur. This diesel oil arrives at the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline project's recipient terminal at the Railhead Oil Depot in Parbatipur, Dinajpur, via pipeline from the Numaligarh Refinery centre located in Assam, India. From the recipient terminal, the fuel is then supplied to the Padma, Meghna and Jamuna companies at the Railhead Oil Depot. Previously, three consignments of 5,000 metric tons each, totalling 15,000 metric tons of diesel, were supplied to this depot via the pipeline.

It is noteworthy that fuel oil (diesel) is supplied directly from India through the underground pipeline to the Railhead Oil Depot in Parbatipur to ensure uninterrupted diesel supply throughout the year to the northern districts. The project to install this 131.57-kilometre underground pipeline began with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on September 18, 2018. Fuel oil import through the pipeline from India officially began on March 18, 2023.

Under the agreement between the two countries, India will supply diesel for the next 15 years, with 2-3 lakh tonnes of fuel to be imported annually. The import volume will be increased based on usage, cost and demand. The BPC has stated that it is possible to import up to 10 lakh metric tons of oil annually from India through this pipeline. Previously, oil used to take 6-7 days to reach the northern region via rail wagons from Khulna and Chattogram.