Amid the ongoing global disruptions due to the Iran war in the Middle East, 5,000 metric tonnes of diesel are coming to Bangladesh from India through a pipeline, reports bdnews24.com.
According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) sources, this diesel is expected to reach the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur from the Numaligarh refinery in India's Assam through the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline.
Muhammad Morshed Hossain Azad, general manager of the Commerce and Operations Department at BPC, told bdnews24.com on Tuesday: "The pumping started yesterday - at 3:20pm on Monday. It takes about 44 hours to bring in about 5,000 tonnes of diesel."
He said, "We are pumping about 113 tonnes of oil here every hour. Accordingly, the supplying is expected to be completed by tomorrow evening."
The Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline is about 131km long and stretches from Siliguri Marketing Terminal in India to the Parbatipur Depot in Dinajpur. Diesel is transported directly through the pipeline.
This inter-country pipeline was inaugurated in March, 2023. Initially, this pipeline has a capacity to transport about 200,000 metric tonnes of diesel per year.
An FE report adds: State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit has reiterated that there is no fuel shortage in the country and the government has no plans to raise fuel or electricity prices.
He stressed that the queues recently seen at petrol pumps were largely driven by consumer panic rather than any disruption in supply.
"There has been no shortage of fuel in the past and there is none now," he clarified.
Mr Amit also assured that uninterrupted power and fuel supply will be maintained during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
The state minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
Global energy prices have surged in recent weeks, with Brent crude climbing to $115 a barrel before easing to around $106 on Monday and falling further to $94 on Tuesday.
While acknowledging the economic pressure from volatile energy markets, Mr Amit said the government is not considering price hikes.
"We do not want to increase people's suffering," he said, adding that the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War has already pushed inflation higher.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
