Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is coming under a new name to start operations with the responsibility of taking care of the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline.
It will bring major changes in the country's energy sector. It will be a milestone in supplying fuel to the 16 districts of the northern part of the country in a cost-effective, fast and uninterrupted manner. Transportation costs will be cut in half. Two and a half lakh tonnes of diesel will be imported from India annually.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has formed a new company to manage this target fuel oil pipeline. All oil transmission pipelines will be operated by the Petroleum Transmission Company PLC. It will perform all kinds of duties including maintenance, management, protection, security of fuel oil transmission pipelines.
Construction of Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline has been completed. Diesel is coming from India through it. PTC-PLC has taken responsibility for this. Currently they are implementing four pipeline projects. These are Single Point Mooring (SPM) Pipeline Project, Chattogram to Dhaka Pipeline, Aviation Fuel Oil Pipeline and Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline. After the completion of the other three projects, all their responsibilities will gradually be transferred to the hands of the new company.
Yusuf Hossain Bhuiyan, senior general manager of BPC, has been given the additional charge of managing director of PTC-PLC. Pipeline project will prevent wastage in oil circulation, time and cost will be saved.
BPC's number of companies has now increased to eight. Other companies besides PTC-PLC are – Padma Oil, Meghna Petroleum, Jamuna Oil, Eastern Refinery, Standard Asiatic Oil (SAOCL), LPG and Eastern Lubricant Blenders.
Eastern Refinery is implementing the SPM pipeline project. If implemented, the imported refined and crude oil can be discharged directly from the mother vessel (large vessel) through the pipeline. This will reduce the oil release time to three-four days.
Oil is taken from the main facility of BPC oil marketing companies in Guptakhal area of Patenga in Chattogram to Godnail, Fatullah and Chandpur depots in Narayanganj. If the Chattogram-Dhaka pipeline is implemented, the risk of oil transportation will be reduced. Padma Oil is overseeing the implementation of the project.
An underground pipeline is being laid from Kanchan Bridge in Pitalganj, Narayanganj to Kurmitola Aviation Depot (KAD) of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to transport fuel oil used in aircraft (Jet A-1). The project under implementation with BPC's own financing has been estimated at Tk 228 crore 49 lakh. And the oil has already started coming in the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline up to Parbatipur in Dinajpur. A 130 km pipeline has been laid from Siliguri in India to Parbatipur in Bangladesh.
The contract for the supply of fuel oil in the pipeline will increase the supply of fuel in a phased manner. According to the agreement, Bangladesh will get 6 lakh tonnes of fuel for the first three years. Get 2 lakh tonnes every year. It will be able to import 3 lakh tonnes of fuel per year from the fourth to the sixth year and 5 lakh tonnes per year from the seventh to the tenth year. In the coming years, 10 lakh tonnes of energy will come from India to Bangladesh annually. As a result, Bangladesh will not face any crisis due to lack of important fuel like diesel in future.
