Single-point mooring to save govt Tk 8.0b per annum

The government would save Tk 8.0 billion annually by cutting the carrying cost of petroleum products from outer anchorage to fuel tankers once the SPM (single-point mooring) project is complete.

An estimated 63.53-per cent work on the overall SPM project has already been completed.

"We're expecting to initiate the operation of the SPM project by August 2022," said Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) chairman ABM Azad.

He was talking to the media on the project site at Moheshkhali under Cox's Bazar district recently.

The state corporation is implementing the project at Tk 65.68 billion.

Of the total cost, the government is providing Tk 12.19 billion, the BPC 6.85 billion and the remaining Tk 46.63 billion is being provided as project aid.

As part of the project work, approximately 135 kilometre (km) offshore pipeline and 58-km onshore pipeline have already been installed.

Work on the Construction of the pumping station and tank firm are almost completed, and six storage tanks are nearing completion.

Of the six, three tanks will able to store crude oil with 50,000 cubic-metre capacity each and the rest be able to store diesel with 30,000 cubic metres each.

The Netherlands-based Blue Water completed the construction of SPM 'Boya' which is awaiting shipment to the project site.

The China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd is currently building the country's maiden SPM system.

The 'Installation of Single Point Mooring (SPM) with Double Pipeline' project is being implemented with Chinese concessional loan of around $554 million.

Of the total loan amount, China is providing $467.84 million as preferential buyers' credit and the remaining $82.5 million as soft loan.

The Exim Bank of China is providing the money to be repaid within 20 years at an interest rate of 2.0 per cent per annum with five years' grace period.

Once the SPM is built, Mr Azad says, the BPC will be able to unload petroleum products from a 100,000-deadweight tonnage tanker within 48 hours, which now takes 11 days.

No lighterage would be required to carry fuel from mother vessel, which is now moored at the outer quay, after implementation of the project, he said.

The BPC currently pays $5.50 per tonne to lighterage or small vessels, owned mainly by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, to ferry petroleum to its onshore tanks from larger mother vessels.

The SPM will save the cost of the BPC.

Bangladesh annually imports around 6.0-million tonnes of crude and refined oil-1.3-million tonnes are crude oil and refined petro products the remaining.

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