Staff Reporter :
Amid the rumour on fuel rationing, the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) on Wednesday said that the country has enough stocks oil including diesel stock for 32 days. Besides, it has prepared fuel import schedule to ensure oil supplies for the next six months.
Legal action is being taken against those who are selling less oil as per consumer demand by attaching notices.
BPC Chairman ABM Azad said this in a press briefing and urged all not to pay heed to the rumour. “Bangladesh has now stock of 4,31,835 tonnes diesel, 12,238 tonnes octane, 21,833 tonnes petrol, 62,891 tonnes jet fuel and 85,041 tonnes furnace oil. If BPC does not import any oil, it will able to run the country from its current stock for 32 days with diesel, nine days with octane, 15 days with petrol, 44 days each with jet fuel and furnace oil,” he said.
Refined fuel oil of 50,000 tonnes of octane and 30,000 tonnes of diesel will arrive at Chattogram’s Patenga port in the next three days, the BPC Chairman said adding that some people including some media are spreading rumors about fuel without knowing the actual scenario.
“No instructions have been given to petrol pumps to give less oil to consumers. The amount of oil that stock now in Bangladesh and is on the way to import, it is guaranteed for six months of fuel,” ABM Azad said.
Bangladesh needs 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes of diesel which is used every day. A major portion of imported diesel is used in the transport and irrigation in agriculture sectors.
The BPC chief said that the latest import of fuel will cover the country’s diesel, octane and petrol demand for 28 days and there were no possibility of shortage of fuel.
Meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh has started walking on the path of austerity since July due to increase the prices of fuel oil in the world market and the crisis of foreign exchange.
The government is blaming the high prices of oil and liquefied natural gas or LNG in the global market for the crisis.
The government has shut down oil-based power plants to save diesel and decided to introduce load shedding due to power shortage.
In such a context, some social media spread that there is a fuel oil crisis in Bangladesh. At least one petrol pump has a notice of limited sale of oil.
However, the BPC chairman said that they have not taken any such decision of selling of oil through rationing system.
Legal action is being taken against those who gave such notices, he added.
