CHATTOGRAM — After weeks of uncertainty, a tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil reached Chattogram port on Wednesday, clearing the way for the country’s only state-owned refinery, Eastern Refinery Ltd. (ERL), to resume full production.
The vessel, MT Nynemia, docked at the port on Wednesday afternoon.
Eastern Refinery Managing Director Md. Sharif Hasnat said the tanker had arrived at midday. “Once unloading is complete, we will begin refining and restore full production capacity,” he said.
ERL officials said the refinery could return to full production by May 8 or 9, after unloading is finished.
The refinery’s operations were severely disrupted in March and April when geopolitical tensions in the Middle East upended shipping schedules.
With scheduled tankers failing to arrive, crude stockpiles fell rapidly, forcing authorities first to reduce production and then to shut the refinery down entirely.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) officials said the shipment was originally meant to leave from Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia, but the vessel set sail from Yanbu port on April 24 because of conflict-related risks.
The alternative route and volatility in global markets nearly doubled import costs.
The shipment is valued at about $108.4 million (roughly 1,084 crore taka), with a per-barrel price of $126.28. The logistical changes added about 607 crore taka in extra costs.
The refinery’s restart is important for the domestic energy market because ERL supplies about 20 percent of the country’s total demand by refining crude into diesel, petrol and other fuels. The remaining 80 percent of fuel demand is met by direct imports of refined petroleum.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report