The government has started negotiations with 13 international companies for importing about 3.0 million tonnes of fuel-oils (gas oil, jet fuel, kerosene) to meet the country's demand in 2016, officials said.
A high-powered official delegation is now in Singapore to discuss the issue with the companies for making necessary import arrangements. Bangladesh petroleum corporation (BPC) chairman A M Badrudduja is leading the seven-member delegation.
Representatives from ministries of finance as well as power, energy and mineral resources are also in the team. The team members left Dhaka on Tuesday, and will return on November 28, they also said.
They will negotiate with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Malaysia's Petco Trading Labuan Company, Emirates National Oil Company, Petro China, Petrolimex, Philippines National Oil Corporation, BSP, UNIPEC, Brunei's PB Trading, Oman Trading International, Maldives National Oil Company ltd (MNOC), Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC) and ZhenHua, they added.
BPC is planning to import over of 2.6 million tonnes of gas oil (diesel) and about 0.35 million tonnes of jet fuel/kerosene in next calendar year. Besides, necessary octane and furnace oil will be procured from different local sources for meeting the country's demand, they added.
BPC manager (commercial) Mohammad Zahid Hossain told the FE on Sunday that a high-powered team, comprising representatives of different government agencies concerned, is now in Singapore for negotiating with global producers to import fuel-oils in 2016.
BPC's annual term contracts are signed for January-December period, and term premiums are negotiated every six months, he added.
The state-run organisation's oil import has been gradually rising over the past years to meet the rising domestic demand. The company had earlier set a target of importing about 5.81 million tonnes of crude-oil and refined-oil products in 2015.
The government has initiated a move for readjusting domestic prices of fuel-oils in line with their price slump in the global market, a finance ministry official said.
Under the initiative, the authorities concerned have already started assessing various factors, like - payment of subsidy for marketing fuel-oils, existing rates of customs duty and other taxes, and current prices of different petroleum products in the local market.
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Govt starts fuel-oil import talks with 13 cos in S\\\'pore
Rezaul Karim | Published: November 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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