DHAKA, Mar 10 : Amid concerns of a potential national fuel shortage due to the ongoing war in Iran, Bangladesh is importing diesel from India via the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline, with a set target of 5,000 tonnes to be supplied by Wednesday evening.
Officials of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said pumping of diesel from India started at 3:20 pm, local time, on Tuesday. The fuel is being transported from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam to the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur through the cross-border pipeline.
According to BPC officials, it will take around 44 hours to pump the 5,000 tonnes of diesel, meaning the process may continue until Wednesday evening, with the organisation noting that Bangladesh on average imports 113 tonnes per hour from India.
Based on this rate, the pumping of the diesel shipment from is expected to be completed by Wednesday evening.
The Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline runs for about 131 kms from the Siliguri Marketing Terminal in India to the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur, enabling direct transportation of diesel between the two countries.
Completed in 2023 during the tenue of the Awami League, the cross-border pipeline can transport over 200,000 tonnes of diesel annually, though prior to its operationalisation, Dhaka had been importing diesel from India’s Numaligarh Refinery through railway wagons since 2016. Energy sector officials had said the pipeline would reduce both transportation time and costs by allowing fuel to be delivered directly to the Parbatipur depot.
Under a bilateral agreement, New Delhi has to export over 180,000 tonnes of fuel to annually to Dhaka, though at present, India will only be exporting 120,000 tonnes to Bangladesh in 2026, reports Business Standard BD.
Earlier on Sunday, during a meeting at the Secretariat between Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, discussions were held between the two sides on a proposal under which an additional 50,000 tonnes of diesel would be supplied over the next four months through the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline.
Separately on Tuesday, in a separate meeting between Pranay Verma, Amir Khasru and Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, Bangladesh also expressed interest in receiving supplies from the existing optional quantity of 60,000 tonnes under the agreement.
India will be sending 5,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh on Tuesday through the cross-border pipeline from the Numaligarh refinery in Assam.
(UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
