CHATTOGRAM, Dec 9: Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will start operating two newly installed pipelines for transporting petroleum products by March, according to BPC sources.
The newly installed pipelines are, first single point mooring (SPM) with double pipeline to transport petroleum products to Eastern Refinery site from Moheshkhali point and 250 km long pipeline from Chattogram to Dhaka to transport over 27 lakh tonnes of Diesel (High Speed Diesel-HSD). The HSD is one of the most important fuel for crop farming in the northern districts.
BPC sources said that both the pipelines have been installed.
On November 21, the interim government selected China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd (CPPEC) to operate and maintain the single point mooring (SPM).
The decision was approved in principle by the Advisors Council Committee on Economic Affairs (ACCEA).
The SPM, built on 90 acres of land in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, is a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between Bangladesh and China, completed at a cost of Tk8,341 crore.
The BPC took 250-kilometre pipeline, to supply diesel from Chattogram to Dhaka to check pilferage and ensure quick supply, said officials.
Now, from Godnail to Fatullah in Narayanganj, oil tankers usually transport oil using waterways as well as to depots in the northern districts including Baghabari (Pabna), Chilmari (Kurigram) and north-western Chachna Bazar (Sunamganj).
Bangladesh depends on coastal tankers, railway wagons and tank-lorries to carry refined oil.
Small barges, mostly owned by the private sector, also carry petroleum products using river routes.
Moreover, due to navigability issues in inland waterways, transporting fuel become particularly difficult during the dry season. This disrupts the supply of fuel but if the project is implemented, the BPC would avoid losses.
Meanwhile, 250- km Chattogram-Dhaka oil pipeline has been constructed at a cost of Tk 3600 crore, under the supervision of the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade of Bangladesh Army.
