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The state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import up to 1.585 million tonnes of refined petroleum products through tender during July-December period (H2) of 2023, which is around 4.0 per cent lower than that of the second half of 2022.
The oil import during July-December 2022 was, however, 34 per cent higher than that of H2 of 2021, said a senior BPC official.
Despite demand hike, the corporation will import less refined oil during the next six months - mainly due to financial hardship, he added.
Market-insiders said the BPC has been struggling to clear arrears of foreign suppliers due to dollar crunch, irking some exporters to threaten shipment suspension.
It owes around US$ 300 million to different refined oil suppliers until May 2023, they noted.
The BPC has planned to import up to 1,200,000 tonnes of sulfur gasoil or diesel, 150,000 tonnes of A-1 jet-fuel, 125,000 tonnes of 180 CST high-sulfur fuel oil or furnace oil, 80,000 tonnes of 95 RON gasoline or octane, and 30,000 tonnes of sulfur marine fuel.
Separately, the entity has also planned to continue import of diesel from India through the newly-commissioned first inter-country pipeline - India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline - through bilateral negotiation.
The BPC has been purchasing Indian diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) at a negotiated premium of $5.50 per barrel to the Mean of Platts Arab Gulf gasoil assessment on cost and freight (CFR) basis for delivery via the pipeline - opened in March, said sources.
The corporation will import refined petroleum products under five different packages based on their quantity and type.
During July-December 2022, the BPC imported around 1.65 million tonnes of sulfur gasoil, A-1 jet fuel, 180 CST high sulfur fuel oil, and 95 RON gasoline combined - when the country's economy was on the track to rebound after the coronavirus pandemic, the BPC official said.
Bangladesh has been facing an acute dollar crisis since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. The country's foreign currency reserve is now hovering around $30 billion from a record $48.6 billion in August 2021.
The BPC usually imports around half of its total required refined oil products through tenders, while the remaining half through negotiations with suppliers. It imports around 1.50 million tonnes of crude oil annually for its wholly-owned Eastern Refinery Ltd.
Separately, Bangladesh's private sector is expected to import around 3.50 million tonnes of 180 CST HSFO during H2 of 2023, if it gets the overdue payment from the government, which is now around Tk 180 billion, equivalent to six months dues, the sources added.