Govt approves 1.2m tonnes of crude oil import

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The government Wednesday approved purchase of 1.2 million (12 lakh) tonnes of crude oil worth Tk 73.53 billion (7,353 crore) from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for 2008, reports bdnews24.com.
The oil will be imported from Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in equal quantity.
The decision came in a meeting of the cabinet committee on purchase with Finance and Planning Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam in the chair.
"The oil will be imported as per country-to-country agreements with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi signed in 1979 and 1983 respectively," Azizul told reporters after the meeting.
The oil will be refined at Eastern Refinery Ltd, he said.
"The price of a barrel of crude oil has been estimated at $110," a senior energy ministry official told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
The committee also approved a proposal to purchase 12,500 tonnes of urea at $408 a tonne and construction of a 150-megawatt peaking power plant at Shikalbaha at a cost of Tk 5.73 billion.
Sinohydro Corporation Ltd, China has been the lowest bidder and selected for the plant.
Committee members and advisers Tapan Chowdhury, M Anwarul Iqbal and Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury were also present.