Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a Liquefied Petroleum Gas bottling plant in the Chittagong region.
Chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Mahmood Reza Khan and Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) B Ashok signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides in the city on Monday.
The setting up this LPG plant will fulfil the growing energy demand and ensure energy security in Bangladesh.
State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid and Indian State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Prodhan witnessed the signing in ceremony.
Nasrul Hamid told a briefing that the government has been working to ensure energy security of the country and has sought formal proposal from India for setting up a land-based LNG terminal for supplying gas to the South-West region of the country.”
The government is also considering import at least 70mmcfd natural gas from the India State Tripura for the eastern part of the country for increasing flow of gas there, he said.
Dharmendra Prodhan, in his speech, said his country’s commitment to collaborate with Bangladesh is to achieving the goal of ‘Power for all’ by the year 2021 as outlined in the joint statement “Notun Projonmo-Nayi disha” agreed upon during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in June, 2015.
He said, “I was greatly encouraged by the positive sentiments of greater cooperation in energy sector between our two countries as expressed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
Prodhan said he conveyed the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for closer and greater cooperation between the two countries, especially in the energy and power sector.
“We attach the highest importance to our relations with Bangladesh, a close neighbour with whom we share a lot in common. Our bilateral relations have never been better before as they are today. While our cooperation is very broad-based, we are simultaneously exploring new vistas of engagement,” he added.
Prodhan said India has been supplying high-speed diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Ltd to Parbatipur through pipeline on a long-term sustainable basis.
“We proposed setting up of LNG terminal in Moheshkhali by Petronet LNG Ltd in expediting exploration activities by OVL in two allotted off-shore blocks near Chittagong,” he said.
Prodhan also said that the MoU for handling the LPG facility symbolizes the win-win partnership as it would benefit both the countries by supplying LPG to Tripura and the North Eastern part of India and at the same time to cater to the domestic demand in Bangladesh.
He said another important contract would be signed today (Tuesday) between Engineers’ India Ltd and Eastern Refinery Limited, Chittagong (ERL) for expansion of the ERL by setting up its second unit. “This again is expected to cater to the huge unmet demand of petroleum and its products in Bangladesh.”
Secretary-in-charge of the Energy Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nazimuddin Chowdhury, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsha Bardhan Sringla and concerned officials from both the countries were present on the occasion.
