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After two fire incidents on oil tankers, the government has expedited the process of implementing a Single Point Mooring (SPM) with a Double Pipeline.
Specifically, following the fires on the Banglar Jyoti and Banglar Sourav tankers that transported oil from a mother vessel to the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is taking steps to initiate the operation of the SPM as quickly as possible.
This operation will help eliminate the need for oil tankers to transport crude oil.
An explosion occurred on the oil tanker 'Banglar Jyoti,' owned by the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), at the Chittagong seaport on September 30. Another oil tanker, Banglar Sourav, caught fire at the outer anchorage of the Chittagong port on October 5. Following the damage to these two ships, BSC chartered an oil tanker to transport oil to ERL from mother vessels.
The Managing Director (MD) of BSC, Commodore Mahmudul Malek, stated that "a foreign ship with a capacity of 30,000 MT has been chartered for lightering the oil."
BPC is currently in discussions with experts regarding the operation and maintenance procedures for the modern installation in the petroleum sector.
These experts are expected to submit a report to BPC later this week.
It should be noted that the current interim government has revoked special rules for appointing a firm to operate and maintain the SPM.
The government will now adhere to the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008, which require at least three bidders to be evaluated.
BPC plans to invite tenders next month (November) to operate the project. In the meantime, BPC has established the 'Petroleum Transmission Company' (PTC), modeled after the Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL), to oversee the project.
The SPM project was initiated by BPC to transport imported raw petroleum to the state-owned ERL in Patenga, Chattogram, in order to reduce transportation costs and ensure direct unloading from deep-sea vessels.
The SPM project began in 2012 and, after completing the official processes, the government awarded the project contract to CPPEC. The project includes the installation of an SPM, a 220-kilometer double pipeline, storage tanks, and a pump station at Moheshkhali. Additionally, a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system and a fire-fighting station have been established.