The government is working to build the capacity to store fuel oil equal to 90 days of demand, to cope with volatility in global energy markets and possible supply shortages. To that end, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) plans to raise its current 60-day strategic storage capacity to 71 days by December this year and to 90 days by 2027.
BPC chairman Dr Md Rafiqul Islam gave the information on Sunday (8 November). He said the step-by-step increase in storage capacity is meant to keep the country’s fuel supply normal and the market stable in any unforeseen situation.
The BPC chairman said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division and BPC are expanding storage infrastructure, building new depots, repairing unused tanks and renting surplus tanks from public and private organisations. New tanks built, or old ones repaired, by public and private organisations will also add to overall storage capacity, making it easier to cope with any disruption to fuel supply.
BPC sources said there are plans to rent unused storage infrastructure from various organisations.
Storage facilities with a capacity of 82,200 tonnes at power plants that are shut down will also be repaired and brought into use. The corporation is also considering renting 30,000 tonnes of storage from the private company Omera.
Projects are also under way to build new depots and tanks on vacant land at Padma Oil, Meghna Petroleum and Jamuna Oil. These include two tanks with a capacity of 9,500 tonnes at Padma Oil, three with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes at Meghna Petroleum, and new storage with a capacity of 58,500 tonnes at Jamuna Oil.
The country can currently store more than 60 days of fuel oil. The target is to raise that to 71 days by December.
According to the Energy Division’s projection, total demand for all types of fuel oil in the country from January to December 2026 is 8,426,400 tonnes. Of that, demand for diesel is 4,473,000 tonnes, an average of 372,750 tonnes a month.
Demand for furnace oil is 735,000 tonnes, jet fuel 663,000 tonnes, octane 439,900 tonnes and petrol 488,500 tonnes.
The six companies under BPC, including Padma Oil, Meghna Petroleum and Jamuna Oil, have a total fuel oil storage capacity of 1,544,066 tonnes. Of that, facilities with a capacity of 67,632 tonnes are under repair and maintenance.
With BPC’s own storage capacity, it can now hold 57 days of diesel, 46 days of octane, 29 days of petrol and 78 days of furnace oil. Its goal, however, is to raise overall strategic fuel oil storage capacity to 90 days.
Under the National Energy Policy 1996, the country is required to keep a 60-day strategic reserve of fuel oil. In addition, government bodies including power plants, Bangladesh Railway and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) have capacity to store 142,298 tonnes of diesel and 178,400 tonnes of furnace oil for their own operations.
Energy experts say bringing unused tanks back into service is cheaper and more practical than acquiring new land for long-term infrastructure projects. They have advised converting little-used kerosene tanks to store diesel and making use of surplus tanks in the power sector and at Bangladesh Railway. The experts also see the government’s move as timely.
Meanwhile, three jet fuel tanks with a capacity of 1,037 tonnes at Padma Oil’s depot in Sylhet are being converted to store diesel. Work is also under way on five tanks with a total capacity of 2,165 tonnes at the Bhairab Bazar depot.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report