Dhaka gets $129m IDB loan to set up deep-sea oil unloading facility
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Monira Munni
The government has sealed a US$129 million soft credit from Islamic Development Bank to build the country's first offshore floating platform aimed at saving billions of taka it spends in unloading oil in deep sea.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith signed the deal with the Jeddah-based development lender, paving the way for building a 'Single Point Mooring' in the Bay of Bengal, he said.
"The pipeline from the floating platform will save both time and money," Muhith told the FE after returning to the capital from central Asian country of Azerbaijan where the IDB held its annual meeting.
"It will help unload crude oil and refined petroleum from mother vessels in the deep sea without landing in the port," the minister said, adding the unloaded oil would be brought to the shore through pipeline.
Construction of the offshore platform will start within the next two to three months and is expected to be completed by 2011, he said.
State-run refinery, Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), and the country's lone oil importer and distributor, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), will install the oil unloading facility.
The platform would be set up in south-west of Kutubdia island in the Bay of Bengal, about 70-kilometre south of the Chittagong port. A 77-kilometre-long 36-diameter pipeline would link ERL with the Single Point Mooring.
Rezaul Alam, the managing director of ERL, said the "pay-back time" of the 9.54 billion taka is four and a half years, meaning the project would save at least 2.50 billion taka a year in unloading cost.
"Currently, two ships of the BSC (Bangladesh Shipping Corporation) unload crude from the mother vessels and then carry it back to ERL landing stations. It is time-consuming and very costly," he said.
"Now 10 to 12 days is required for unloading imported petroleum or crude from a mother vessel. We count huge amount of extra fare to the vessels for any delay in unloading," said an ERL official.
After constructing the pipeline and the floating platform in the Bay only two days would be required to unload oil and supply it to the ERL, the official added.
The country imports nearly 3.7 million tonnes of crude and refined oil by ships from different countries especially from the Gulf to meet growing demand. The amount is set to soar as the country has undertaken series of new diesel-fired power plants.
The government has sealed a US$129 million soft credit from Islamic Development Bank to build the country's first offshore floating platform aimed at saving billions of taka it spends in unloading oil in deep sea.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith signed the deal with the Jeddah-based development lender, paving the way for building a 'Single Point Mooring' in the Bay of Bengal, he said.
"The pipeline from the floating platform will save both time and money," Muhith told the FE after returning to the capital from central Asian country of Azerbaijan where the IDB held its annual meeting.
"It will help unload crude oil and refined petroleum from mother vessels in the deep sea without landing in the port," the minister said, adding the unloaded oil would be brought to the shore through pipeline.
Construction of the offshore platform will start within the next two to three months and is expected to be completed by 2011, he said.
State-run refinery, Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), and the country's lone oil importer and distributor, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), will install the oil unloading facility.
The platform would be set up in south-west of Kutubdia island in the Bay of Bengal, about 70-kilometre south of the Chittagong port. A 77-kilometre-long 36-diameter pipeline would link ERL with the Single Point Mooring.
Rezaul Alam, the managing director of ERL, said the "pay-back time" of the 9.54 billion taka is four and a half years, meaning the project would save at least 2.50 billion taka a year in unloading cost.
"Currently, two ships of the BSC (Bangladesh Shipping Corporation) unload crude from the mother vessels and then carry it back to ERL landing stations. It is time-consuming and very costly," he said.
"Now 10 to 12 days is required for unloading imported petroleum or crude from a mother vessel. We count huge amount of extra fare to the vessels for any delay in unloading," said an ERL official.
After constructing the pipeline and the floating platform in the Bay only two days would be required to unload oil and supply it to the ERL, the official added.
The country imports nearly 3.7 million tonnes of crude and refined oil by ships from different countries especially from the Gulf to meet growing demand. The amount is set to soar as the country has undertaken series of new diesel-fired power plants.