Saudi crude oil shipment arrives at Kutubdia, Eastern Refinery set to go online
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A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia has arrived at the Kutubdia channel.
The vessel, MT Ninemia, reached the channel around 12:15 pm on Wednesday, according to Mahmudul Malek, managing director of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC).
The vessel left Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia on April 21 carrying crude oil bound for Chittagong Port.
Malek said formalities will be completed before lightering operations begin from the tanker, with six lighter vessels already positioned at the site.
The ship entered Bangladeshi waters on Tuesday night, bdnews24.com reports
This shipment marks the first arrival of crude oil since February 18, following disruptions caused by conflicts in the West Asia.
Due to the lack of raw materials, production at Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the country’s sole state-owned refinery, had been virtually suspended since April 14.
Officials at the refinery are optimistic that the new arrival will allow the facility to return to full capacity by Thursday.
ERL Managing Director Md Sharif Hasnat noted that all preparations are in place.
He said if weather conditions remain favourable and the oil supply reaches the refinery, all five units could be fully operational by Thursday evening.
No crude oil shipment had arrived in Bangladesh since the start of the Iran war.
The previous cargo reached the country on February 18, around 10 days before the conflict began on February 28, and that supply had been used for refining operations at ERL.
ERL typically processes crude oil imported from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with an annual refining capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.
The refinery produces 13 types of fuel, including diesel, petrol, octane, furnace oil, kerosene, jet fuel, naphtha, bitumen, and LPG, with diesel accounting for the largest share of its output.
The ERL chief noted that another 100,000-tonne shipment is scheduled to be loaded from Fujairah in the UAE.
That vessel is expected to depart for between May 10 and May 11.