Staff Reporter :
The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 5,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India per month by tank lorry through Siliguri border, sources said.
Officials of both BPC and state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are working in this regard but the process is being delayed as the BPCL has sought premium of $8.31 per barrel.
BPC currently imports 0.05 percent-sulphur diesel at around $2.50 per barrel to MOPAG gasoil assessments on CFR basis.
India has proposed to export lorry-loads of diesel to Bangladesh from Numaligarh Refinery of BPCL on a regular basis, pending a joint pipeline.
Bangladesh earlier had imported diesel for a brief period and a small quantity of 3,500 tonnes from BPCL in 2007.
A senior BPC official said the exporter sought a premium of $8.31 per barrel to Platts Arab Gulf (PAG) diesel assessments on CFR basis meaning the price would be above $8.31 per barrel from the international benchmark price of this fuel oil.
Officials said BPCL recently sent in a proposal to BPC on supply of around 5,000 metric tonnes (mt) of diesel per month by tank lorry from Siliguri.
However, the BPC has not decided yet on the diesel import on tank lorry from the Numaligarh Refinery in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, said the official.
He said the premium would be a crucial issue in taking decision on import of diesel from the BPCL.
The Petroleum Corporation, meanwhile, imported some 2,200mt diesel by rail from the Numaligarh Refinery in March under a ‘goodwill gesture’.
BPCL had supplied the consignment of diesel, having 0.03 per cent sulphur content, at Parbatipur inside Bangladesh.
The BPC had also imported around 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the Indian Oil Company Ltd during 2005-06, the Corporation officials said.
BPC and the BPCL, however, are currently working to build jointly an onshore pipeline between the two neighbouring countries to carry petroleum products from India’s Numaligarh Refinery into Bangladesh.
The two corporations have reached a consensus on establishing a joint-venture (JV) firm to build the fuel-carrying pipeline. But no deadline has been fixed for the project.
They inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April last year to establish the JV to set up the cross-country oil pipeline. BPC currently imports around 3.5 million tonnes of diesel annually to meet local demand.
The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 5,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India per month by tank lorry through Siliguri border, sources said.
Officials of both BPC and state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are working in this regard but the process is being delayed as the BPCL has sought premium of $8.31 per barrel.
BPC currently imports 0.05 percent-sulphur diesel at around $2.50 per barrel to MOPAG gasoil assessments on CFR basis.
India has proposed to export lorry-loads of diesel to Bangladesh from Numaligarh Refinery of BPCL on a regular basis, pending a joint pipeline.
Bangladesh earlier had imported diesel for a brief period and a small quantity of 3,500 tonnes from BPCL in 2007.
A senior BPC official said the exporter sought a premium of $8.31 per barrel to Platts Arab Gulf (PAG) diesel assessments on CFR basis meaning the price would be above $8.31 per barrel from the international benchmark price of this fuel oil.
Officials said BPCL recently sent in a proposal to BPC on supply of around 5,000 metric tonnes (mt) of diesel per month by tank lorry from Siliguri.
However, the BPC has not decided yet on the diesel import on tank lorry from the Numaligarh Refinery in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, said the official.
He said the premium would be a crucial issue in taking decision on import of diesel from the BPCL.
The Petroleum Corporation, meanwhile, imported some 2,200mt diesel by rail from the Numaligarh Refinery in March under a ‘goodwill gesture’.
BPCL had supplied the consignment of diesel, having 0.03 per cent sulphur content, at Parbatipur inside Bangladesh.
The BPC had also imported around 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the Indian Oil Company Ltd during 2005-06, the Corporation officials said.
BPC and the BPCL, however, are currently working to build jointly an onshore pipeline between the two neighbouring countries to carry petroleum products from India’s Numaligarh Refinery into Bangladesh.
The two corporations have reached a consensus on establishing a joint-venture (JV) firm to build the fuel-carrying pipeline. But no deadline has been fixed for the project.
They inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April last year to establish the JV to set up the cross-country oil pipeline. BPC currently imports around 3.5 million tonnes of diesel annually to meet local demand.
