Overhauling, expanding Eastern Refinery
Monday, 1 June 2009
Ferdous Alam
THE 40-year old Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) at Chittagong is long past its active service life. But overhauling can give fresh life to the country's lone refinery.
The country's annual demand for refined petroleum and petroleum products is 3.7 million tons. ERL refines 1.4 million tons of petroleum and petroleum products. The shortfall of about 2.3 million tons of refined oil is met by imports by the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) against hard currency. If ERL runs in full capacity which the overhaul can restore, the import of refined petroleum and petroleum products would be unnecessary. The import of crude alone would save the country much in precious foreign currency. It would reduce the pressure on the country's foreign currency reserve and the balance of payments.
It is, therefore very important to carry out, without wasting time, the overdue balancing, modernisation, replacement and extension (BMRE) of the ERL. It is even more important to mobilise the funds for the establishment of a second unit of Eastern Refinery. According to a study done earlier by the BPC, the annual demand of fuel oil and petroleum products is likely to increase to 6.6 million tons by 2015. The government would by then be required to import more refined petroleum and petroleum products spending more foreign currency. For this reason alone, no time should be wasted in establishing the second unit of the ERL with a capacity to refine at least 3.0 million tons.
The ERL with a life-span of 20 years was established in 1968. Obviously, the ERL has outlived itself. A breakdown in its operations, any moment, would cost much unless the long overdue BMRE is done without wasting more time. The BMRE over, the capacity of the refinery needs to increased immediately which the second unit can provide.
THE 40-year old Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) at Chittagong is long past its active service life. But overhauling can give fresh life to the country's lone refinery.
The country's annual demand for refined petroleum and petroleum products is 3.7 million tons. ERL refines 1.4 million tons of petroleum and petroleum products. The shortfall of about 2.3 million tons of refined oil is met by imports by the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) against hard currency. If ERL runs in full capacity which the overhaul can restore, the import of refined petroleum and petroleum products would be unnecessary. The import of crude alone would save the country much in precious foreign currency. It would reduce the pressure on the country's foreign currency reserve and the balance of payments.
It is, therefore very important to carry out, without wasting time, the overdue balancing, modernisation, replacement and extension (BMRE) of the ERL. It is even more important to mobilise the funds for the establishment of a second unit of Eastern Refinery. According to a study done earlier by the BPC, the annual demand of fuel oil and petroleum products is likely to increase to 6.6 million tons by 2015. The government would by then be required to import more refined petroleum and petroleum products spending more foreign currency. For this reason alone, no time should be wasted in establishing the second unit of the ERL with a capacity to refine at least 3.0 million tons.
The ERL with a life-span of 20 years was established in 1968. Obviously, the ERL has outlived itself. A breakdown in its operations, any moment, would cost much unless the long overdue BMRE is done without wasting more time. The BMRE over, the capacity of the refinery needs to increased immediately which the second unit can provide.