State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is continuing regular import of petroleum products under contractual obligations amid austerity measures taken by the government to reduce fuel consumption.
Although the government has instructed the BPC to reduce import of diesel by 20 per cent, the corporation is yet to take steps to curb imports, a senior BPC official told the FE on Wednesday.
He said the BPC was monitoring the fuel consumption pattern after the enforcement of austerity measures, which include shutting diesel-fired power plants, shops and shopping malls by 8:00 pm, and restricting illuminations in social gatherings in community centers, shops and shopping malls.
"We have stopped supplying diesel to diesel-fired power plants following government instructions," he said.
But diesel consumption through petrol pumps has soared by around 10 to 12 per cent on an average, President of Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners' Association Nazmul Haque told the FE.
He said industries, residential hotels, and high-rise apartments were among the major buyers of diesel as they run generators in absence of electricity during load shedding.
The BPC has contracts to import up to 1.65 million tonnes of refined petroleum products in July-December 2022, which will be 34 per cent higher compared to the July-December period of 2021.
The BPC has been importing 11,30,000-11,90,000 tonnes of diesel, 160,000 tonnes of jet fuel, 75,000-1,25,000 tonnes of furnace oil, 125,000-150,000 tonnes of octane, and 30,000 tonnes of marine fuel through a tender process during the second half of 2022.
The state-run petroleum corporation has also been importing a similar quantity of petroleum products through negotiations with more than half a dozen suppliers during July-December 2022.
The energy and mineral resources division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources in a clarification on Wednesday said the country had sufficient storage of petroleum products to meet domestic demand.
The BPC has 431,835 tonnes of diesel storage, which can meet demand for 32 days considering daily consumption of around 13,607 tonnes.
The country has storage of jet A-1 fuel to meet 44 days of demand and furnace oil to meet demand for 32 days, it clarified.
Bangladesh produces full quantities of petrol to meet local demand, while imports 40 per cent octane of its demand from the international market.
In July, the BPC has imported around 255,000 tonnes of diesel through nine cargoes, 43,000 tonnes of A-1 jet fuel through two cargoes, 24,677 tonnes of octane in one cargo and 53,358 tonnes of furnace oil through two cargoes, it stated.
In August, the BPC will also import 218,000 tonnes of diesel through eight cargoes, 25,000 tonnes of jet fuel in one cargo, and 25,000 tonnes of octane through one cargo, the statement added.
