The Chattogram-Dhaka oil pipeline will be put into trial operation in February and commercial operation in March. The pipeline will bring relief in many ways, including preventing wastage in fuel oil transportation, said Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Amin ul Ahsan.
He told Barta24.com that many challenges had to be faced in transporting oil from Chattogram to Dhaka. If the pipeline is launched, safe transportation of oil will be ensured. In addition, the issue of cost and wastage in bringing it in lighterage will also be eliminated.
In response to a question, he said, diesel will be brought through the pipeline. Diesel constitutes 70 percent of the fuel oil we use. That demand will be ensured. Petrol and octane will come in the same way as they were supplied earlier, sometimes in railway wagons, sometimes in tankers by river.
In response to a question, the BPC Chairman said, many problems are faced in bringing oil by rail. It is difficult to get locomotives (engines) on time. Last week, I had to talk to the Railway Secretary himself to get the locomotive.
A preliminary survey was conducted for the Dhaka-Chattogram oil pipeline in 2017. Initially, the period was until December 2020. But the work started in 2020. In the first phase, the period was set to December 2022, and in the second phase, the period was extended to December this year. BPC said that the project period has been extended by another 6 months without increasing the cost.
Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at Tk. 2,861 crore. Currently, the cost has increased to about Tk. 3,699 crore. This project of BPC is being implemented by the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army. It is known that after the success of the company, they are also being given the work of the pending (Narayanganj-Airport) jet fuel pipeline.
Under this project financed by BPC, a 237-kilometer Dhaka-Chattogram, 59-kilometer Cumilla-Chandpur, and 8.5-kilometer Fatullah-Godnail Depot pipeline has been installed. BPC expects that once the pipeline is operational, transportation costs of Tk. 65 crore will be saved annually. In addition to saving costs, various complications will be eliminated.
There is a huge syndicate focused on transporting oil by lighterage on the river. Godnail Depot is known as a paradise for oil theft. The reason for that theft was the waste of time in unloading oil from the lighterage. BPC believes that this issue will also be brought under control once the pipeline is completed.
The owners of the lighterages transporting oil once took to the field in public to stop the project. It is because of them that the slow pace is noticeable. Again, people from the oil theft syndicate joined hands with them. Finally, the pipeline is going to see the light of day.
The BPC Chairman said that there will be no problem with the irrigation season as preparations have been made in advance. Supply has been ensured as per the estimated demand. Conferences are being held with distributors in the northern region. That too, keeps the irrigation season in mind.
The fuel transportation system in the northern region, known as the country's grain storehouse, was very complex with many gates and hand-to-hand exchanges. Oil was taken to Baghabari by lighterage, from there to tankers; another route is to reach it by railway. Now the Bangladesh India Friendship Pipeline has brought about a change there too. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline construction project was undertaken in 2018 to provide uninterrupted, fast and cost-effective fuel supply to 16 districts of the northern region of the country. The construction period of the 131.50-km pipeline at a cost of Tk. 3,623 crore was till June 2023. The pipeline has been commissioned ahead of schedule. Oil is being imported through this pipeline, which extends from Numaligarh in India to Parbatipur depot in Bangladesh.
Currently, the demand for fuel oil in the country is about 73 lakh metric tons. It is estimated to be 93 lakh metric tons in 2030, of which 67.19 percent is diesel. Bangladesh does not produce fuel oil, but gasoline and about 40 percent of octane are supplied from condensate obtained from gas fields. A large amount of diesel and other products are imported. A large amount of fuel is imported by river. But due to the lack of navigability in river ports, large ships cannot dock at the ports. Therefore, they had to rely on lighterage ships.