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CHATTOGRAM, Feb 22: Finally, the direct transportation of fuel oil using Single Point Mooring (SPM) will commence on February 29 from Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar to Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) at Patenga in the district.
This operational milestone comes over three months after the formal inauguration.
This breakthrough in fuel transportation is expected to save substantial cost for oil clearance from mother vessels.
Despite encountering some mechanical issues initially, the ongoing crude oil and diesel discharging experiment from two ships anchored in the deep sea is progressing successfully, with the products set to be pumped into ERL.
Sources indicate that Bangladesh's fuel oil importing system enters a new era with the inauguration of the SPM, elevating the storage capacity of petroleum products to 1.3 million tonnes, an increase of 0.2 million tonnes under the SPM project.
The utilisation of SPM for offloading fuel oil from mother vessels is anticipated to save at least Tk 8.0 billion (Tk 800 crore) annually. Experts affirm that the SPM enhances the country's energy management system, making it more economical, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country's first SPM on November 11 last year.
With the SPM in operation, tankers can directly unload petroleum using the floating buoy, situated some 9 km southwest of Matarbari in Moheshkhali.
The time required to offload a tanker has significantly reduced from 11 days to 48 hours, eliminating the need for lighter ships to transport oil to storage facilities.
This efficiency not only saves the government a substantial amount of foreign exchange by reducing transport costs and wastage but also showcases Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's (BPC) achievement in expanding storage capacity to 1.3 million tonnes.
BPC accomplished this by constructing six storage tanks at Maheshkhali under the SPM project, along with the installation of a double pipeline. The SPM has an annual unloading capacity of 9 million, capable of unloading 60,000 tonnes of crude oil and 70,000 tonnes of diesel in 24 hours.
Initiated in 2012, the SPM project underwent the official process, leading to the government awarding the contract to the Chinese company China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) on December 7, 2016, for the implementation of the 'SPM with Double Pipeline.'
The project includes installations of SPM, a 220-kilometer double pipeline, storage tanks, and a pump station at Moheshkhali. Additionally, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and a firefighting station have been set up to enhance operational efficiency and safety.