The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Tuesday approved in principle the emergency procurement of 260,000 metric tonnes of fuel including diesel and crude oil to strengthen national reserves amid volatile global energy situation.

The approvals came at a committee meeting chaired by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury as the government moves to ensure energy security amid rising tensions in the Gulf region.

According to meeting sources, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division received the green light for three major import proposals under the Direct Purchase Method (DPM) and Government-to-Government (G2G) arrangements.

In a strategic move to counter potential supply disruptions, the committee approved the procurement of 100,000 metric tons of crude oil from Abeer Trade & Global Markets.

Besides, under a G2G framework, 60,000 metric tons of 0.5% sulfur gas oil will be imported from Indonesia’s state-listed firm PT Bumi Siak Pusako Zapin (BSP Zapin), while another 100,000 metric tons of 50 PPM sulfur diesel was approved for purchase from Maxwell International SPC.

While several proposals were cleared the Energy and Mineral Resources Division withdrew two specific items from the meeting's agenda.

These included a proposal to procure 100,000 metric tons of EN590-10 PPM sulfur diesel from ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (EMKI) and a proposal to import 60,000 metric tons of 0.5% sulfur gas oil from Archer Energy LLC.

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Officials noted that the direct purchase method is being utilised to bypass lengthy tendering processes, ensuring the country maintains a steady supply of energy as international markets remain unstable.

The approved proposals will now move to the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) for final price verification and contract awarding.