CHATTOGRAM — The country’s only state-run oil refinery, Eastern Refinery PLC Ltd. (ERL), has been shut down because of a crude oil shortage, the company said. The final refining work at the plant took place Monday (April 13) afternoon, two ERL officials said. The energy division has assured that the country has sufficient refined fuel stocks and that the supply system will not be affected.
According to ERL officials, refining was carried out by tapping 5,000 tonnes of crude held in the Single Point Mooring (SPM) pipeline at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar and the dead stock from four crude tanks — the residual oil sitting at the bottom of storage tanks.
Officials said ERL typically refines an average of 4,500 tonnes of crude oil per day. Because of the crude shortage, refining had been reduced last month to 3,500 tonnes per day. As of March 4, the company’s usable oil stock had fallen below 2,000 tonnes.
ERL Managing Director Md. Sharif Hasnat and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Md. Rejaur Rahman were not reachable on their mobile phones despite repeated attempts.
According to BPC, Bangladesh imports 6.5 million to 6.8 million tonnes of fuel oil per year. Diesel and crude oil make up the larger share. About 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil comes from Middle Eastern countries and is refined at ERL.
Crude oil imports have been halted for nearly two months because of the crisis caused by the Iran-U.S. war. The next import shipment is expected to arrive in the first week of May. ERL will have to wait until then.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report