China firm to operate first single point mooring

China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd (CPPEC) has been chosen to operate and maintain (O&M) Bangladesh's first single point mooring (SPM) with double pipeline project, reports UNB.

The decision was approved in principle on Thursday by the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs (ACCEA), chaired by Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed.

The proposal, submitted by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, was approved under the direct purchase method (DPM). However, meeting officials noted that the detailed proposal was not presented during the session.

Full details will be reviewed in the upcoming meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase.

The SPM, built on 90 acres of land in Maheshkhali upazila, Cox's Bazar, is a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between Bangladesh and China, which was completed at a cost of Tk 83.41 billion.

The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) undertook the project to streamline the offloading of petroleum products and their transportation via pipeline.

The facility features a 36-inch-wide pipeline that transports crude oil from the mooring point to storage tanks at Kalamarchara in Matarbari. From there, the oil is moved 220 kilometers to the Eastern Refinery in Patenga, Chittagong, via an 18-inch-wide pipeline. The entire 110-km pipeline connects the deep-sea mooring point to the refinery.

According to officials, the SPM will significantly improve the efficiency of fuel offloading, reducing the time required to transfer imported petroleum from 11-12 days via lighterage ships to just 48 hours. This transition is expected to save approximately Tk 8 billion annually.