Locally produced and imported octane is enough in stock to feed the needs for the motor fuel across Bangladesh until June, a government minister says while an official blames excess stocking for scrambles at pumps.
The country has sufficient octane stock to meet the domestic demand for at least two and a half months, says State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) Aninda Islam Amit.
"With the existing octane stock we shall be able to meet domestic demand until June," he told The Financial Express on Thursday.
He urges the consumers not to go mad or do panic buying of petroleum products, including octane, at this worldwide crunch time created by the Mideast mayhem.
Contacted over the situation, a senior official of the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) echoed the view.
He says, "Despite having sufficient octane stock, long queues in front of petrol pumps are still visible as most consumers are keeping stock of octane after daily purchases."
Octane is usually consumed in motor bikes and high-value cars like sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
Octane-stocking trend in motorcyclists and SUV owners "in connivance with some unscrupulous petrol-pump workers is deteriorating the situation further", market insiders say.
According to the BPC official, apart from the current octane reserves, a cargo vessel carrying around 27,000 tonnes of octane will anchor at Chattogram today (Friday) and another vessel with around 25,000 tonnes will reach the port by May 3.
One cargo carrying around 26,000 tonnes of octane reached Chattogram on April 9, he says.
Market insiders have said the country requires around 1,100 tonnes of octane daily to feed the domestic demand, most of which comes from local sources.
State-run Kailashtila condensate fractionation plant produces a significant volume of octane using condensate, a liquid byproduct from local gas fields.
Several privately owned petrochemical companies also produce octane using locally sourced condensate and naphtha.
Private companies, including Super Petrochemical, Aqua Petrochemical, Petromax and Partex Petro Ltd, get most of their condensate from local gas fields and naphtha from the Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL).
The private octane producers have ramped up production since last week to meet the country's demand amid panic buying by consumers, they say.
The BPC also imports a portion of required octane from global suppliers, says the BPC official.
Apart from octane, the country also has ample reserves of diesel, petrol, octane and jet fuel, says the MPEMR state minister.
Although the country's maiden crude-oil refinery - ERL - is running at lower capacity, it will initiate full-scale operation after a couple of weeks, says Mr Amit.
The BPC has ramped up import of refined petroleum products from different sources as backup to meet the domestic fuel demand, the minister mentions.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
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