Anisul Islam Noor :Twelve suppliers have submitted their bids to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) for supplying fuel oil from international markets through open tender system. The BPC will import the fuel oil products from April until December this year, and base its monthly import volumes on the country’s requirements for each month.The fuel import cost is set fall as BPC received lower quoted bids in the process of open tendering compared to the purchase under term deals as followed for the last 14 years, an official said.The age of the term deal system would be ended in oil procurement, getting the advantage of free choice to buy it at rates commensurate with the rock-bottom prices on the global market.The global oil suppliers quoted lower premium rates at least by 25 per cent compared to the premium rates under the existing term deals, the BPC official said.Premium rate is a component of the oil-pricing mechanism under CFR (cost and freight) basis, which includes the costs of fuel freight, insurance, evaporation as well as loading and unloading losses.”Bidders will be selected on the basis of the premium rates they offered in their bids as the petroleum prices would be unique,” said the official.BPC had floated an international tender early this month, seeking quotations from interested global suppliers, for importing 1.50 million tonnes of refined petroleum products in 2016.The corporation will import 1.32 million tonnes (9.847 million barrels) of 0.05 per cent sulfur gasoil (diesel) and 180,000 tonnes of A-1 jet fuel through this tender.Import will be made by two installments-one comprising 660,000 tonnes of diesel and 100,000 tonnes of jet A-1 fuel, and the other 660,000 tonnes of diesel and 80,000 tonnes of jet A-1 fuel.US firm ExxonMobil, Dutch Trafigura, Thai state-run PTT Public Company Ltd, Emirates National Oil Company, Malaysian state-run Petronas, South Korean SK Energy, Petro China, Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte Ltd and UNIPEC Singapore PTE Ltd, Glancore are among the bidders who submitted bids Monday, BPC director for operations and planning Mosleh Uddin told reporters.Eighteen companies bought the schedules but 12 submitted bids. The oil suppliers have submitted bids for any of the two or both the ranches, he said.The premium rate that bidders submitted Monday is below $3.0 per barrel to Mean of Platts Arab Gulf Gasoil (MoPAG) assessments for 0.05 per cent sulfur gasoil (diesel) and around $4.0 barrel to MoPAG assessment for A-1 jet fuel, BPC sources said.Currently, the BPC imports 0.05 per cent sulfur gasoil at the premium rate of $4.40 per barrel to MOPAG gasoil assessments, on CFR basis, for January-June 2016 period.The state-run corporation imports jet fuel at a premium rate of $5.40 per barrel as per MOPAG jet fuel assessment.Currently, the BPC imports different types of refined petroleum products through term deals where the pricing formula is maintained as per MOPAG formula.But the premium rates are fixed through negotiations with suppliers on half-yearly basis.The corporation imported around 5.50 million tonnes of crude oil and refined oil products combined in 2015.
