Bangladesh has planned to import 5.46 million (54.6 lakh) metric tons of petroleum for 2023.
Of these bulk petroleum, some 3.860 million (38.60 lakh tons) is refined petroleum while the remaining 1.6 million (16 lakh) MT is crude petroleum.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting, with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair, on Wednesday gave approval in principle to two separate proposals in this regard, placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import the entire petroleum.
As per the proposal, 1.6 million MT of crude petroleum will be imported from ARAMCO of Saudi Arabia and ADNOC of Abu Dhabi through a direct procurement method.
The refined 3.8 million MT petroleum will be imported from different countries under G2G basis.
However, the sources of the import and the quantities were not disclosed.
These proposals will come to the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) for final approval and at that stage, the details of the proposals might be disclosed.
Normally Bangladesh imports half of its refined petroleum through G2G basis through negotiation and the remaining half from the international market through international tender.
Both in the negotiation process and tender process and negotiation process, only premium is set for the import while the petroleum rate is fixed on the basis of market rate through a certain formula.
Read: Country has adequate stocks of petroleum fuel: Energy Division
“Chattogram Metropolitan Sewerage Project for Patenga Catchment”
The CCEA also approved in principle another proposal titled “Chattogram Metropolitan Sewerage Project for Patenga Catchment” to implement it through public-private partnership (PPP).
The Local Government Division placed the proposal while its subordinate body Chattagram WASA will implement the project in order to build an environment-friendly sanitation system in South Patenga and surrounding areas under the Chattagram City Corporation. No detail of the project’s cost was disclosed in the meeting.