The arrival of a Saudi tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude at Chattogram port is set to end a raw material shortage that kept Eastern Refinery, the country’s only state‑owned plant, largely shut for over three weeks.
The refinery is expected to resume full-scale operations from Thursday (7 May), following a 22-day disruption, said Mohammad Tajul Islam, general manager (Development and Control) of Eastern Refinery.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) believes the fresh shipment will play a crucial role in stabilising the country’s fuel supply situation.
The oil tanker MT Ninemia, which departed Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia on 20 April, reached the Kutubdia anchorage area of Chattogram Port on Wednesday morning. The unloading process has already begun and is expected to take 9 to 10 days to complete.
State-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is handling the transportation of the crude oil. BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek confirmed that the vessel anchored at around 12:15pm and discharge operations are now underway.
From the anchorage, the crude oil is being transferred to lighter smaller vessels through a process known as “lightening” before being carried to the Dolphin Jetty in Patenga.
A total of eight lighter vessels will be used to transport the oil, which will then be pumped via pipeline into storage tanks at the refinery.
Eastern Refinery officials said production could begin within hours of receiving crude in storage tanks. Tajul Islam said, “If we receive the crude oil on Wednesday, production will start from Thursday.”
He added that it takes around 12 hours to refine crude oil, with the refinery capable of producing about 4,400 tonnes of refined fuel daily.
The refinery had shut down two of its three units on 14 April due to a lack of crude oil, halting the production of more than 4,000 tonnes of fuel products per day, including octane, petrol, diesel and furnace oil. However, Unit-3 remained partially operational, producing limited quantities of bitumen, petrol and octane.
Despite the shutdown, BPC maintained market supply by increasing imports of refined petroleum products. According to BPC General Manager Md Ferdousi Masum Himel, the supply situation is now stable, with no immediate risk of a fuel shortage.
“With increased imports of finished fuel, the market shortage has already been addressed. The arrival of crude oil has further strengthened stock levels,” he said.
BPC estimates that the newly arrived crude oil will yield around 26,000 tonnes of diesel, 24,000 tonnes of furnace oil, 16,000 tonnes of petrol, 21,000 tonnes of kerosene and 8,000 tonnes of octane.
The refinery can operate for about 25 days using this volume, officials added, stressing the need to ensure timely arrival of subsequent shipments.
Another tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil is scheduled to depart Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates on 10 May and is expected to reach Chattogram port by 25 May. The port selection was made considering regional geopolitical uncertainties.
Earlier, the last crude shipment arrived on 18 February. A subsequent tanker carrying a similar volume had been delayed at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura Port amid tensions linked to the Iran-Israel-US conflict, contributing to the recent supply crunch.
According to BPC, Bangladesh imports a significant portion of its refined petroleum products, particularly diesel, which accounts for about 69 percent of total imports.
Annually, the corporation imports between 1.2 and 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil, more than half of which comes from Saudi Arabia.
Established in 1968, Eastern Refinery currently meets around 20 to 25 percent of the country’s total fuel demand. The facility produces a range of petroleum products including diesel, petrol, LPG, jet fuel, kerosene and bitumen, with diesel accounting for the largest share.
