Bangladesh will import 1.5 million (15 lakh) metric ton of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the year 2024. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a virtual meeting, with Finance Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal, in-principle approved a proposal in this regard. As per proposal of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), moved by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the crude oil will be imported through direct purchase method (DPM) which means there was no tender or competitive bidding process in selecting the supplier. Dhaka urges Riyadh to consider crude or refined oil on deferred payment basis The proposal mentioned that Saudi Aramco and UAE-based Adnoc will supply the total crude petroleum. While briefing reporters about the outcomes of the Cabinet body's meeting, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division Sayeed Mahbub Khan informed that the cost or price of petroleum was not mentioned in the proposal as it came for in-principal approval. Bangladesh needs to import about 6.5 million metric ton of petroleum oil annually. Of this, about 1.5 million is crude and the remaining amount is refined petroleum. Glitch in brand new pipeline halts transfer of crude oil from mother vessel in Maheshkhali    The Cabinet body approved, in-principle, another proposal -- of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority under the Department of Information and Communication Technology -- to appoint a private company for operation and maintenance work of its “Vision 2041 Smart Tower” in Kawranbazar, Dhaka. The company will operate the building under the "Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Eco-System" project after its construction work.

Bangladesh has reiterated its request to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to explore possible cooperation from the country in meeting Bangladesh’s domestic energy needs. Reflecting on the current political instability in parts of Europe, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday urged Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan to explore possible cooperation from Saudi Arabia and take up the issue of considering crude or refined oil from Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company) on a deferred payment basis. The Saudi envoy assured to take up the proposal with the appropriate authorities in the Kingdom, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also conveyed KSA’s readiness to facilitate Bangladesh’s proposal to set up a fertilizer industry in Saudi Arabia. Also Read: 16,000 MW: Forecast of possible electricity demand during upcoming irrigation season The Ambassador handed over a letter to Momen from Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al- Saud inviting the Foreign Minister to undertake an official visit to Saudi Arabia to review and expedite ongoing mutual collaboration. The Foreign Minister appreciated and accepted the invitation, thanked the Ambassador and said the visit schedule would be fixed through diplomatic channels. During the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they exchanged views on issues of mutual interests pertaining to bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Welcoming the Saudi envoy in his office, Foreign Minister Momen commended him for his dynamic role in promoting the bilateral relationship. They discussed and reviewed various bilateral issues and expressed satisfaction at the state of relations flourishing rapidly in many fields including political, economic, trade & investment, security & defense, manpower and other areas. On the prospect of further employment in the Saudi Arabia with reference to Neom city, the Foreign Minister conveyed Bangladesh’s readiness in providing skilled workers and technicians in different trades and also indicated readiness of the Government to assign dedicated university or training institute to train manpower in specialized trades to cater to the needs of Saudi Arabia. Noting progress of the Saudi investment in the renewable energy sector, the Foreign Minister urged the Envoy to explore the possibility of prospective financing in the Eastern Refinery Unit-2 from Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). Reaffirming support to Saudi Arabia in the multilateral fora, Momen recalled Bangladesh’s support to Saudi Arabia in hosting the Expo-2030 in Riyadh. The Saudi Ambassador expressed his gratitude to the Minister for his continuous support and guidance in taking forward the bilateral engagements to new heights and continued support in the multilateral fora.  

With the G7 price ceiling on Russian crude oil at USD 60 per barrel taking effect, India on Monday (December 05, 2022) vehemently defended its acquisition of crude oil from Russia during the ongoing Ukraine war – claiming that New Delhi’s purchase was just one-sixth of the European buy in the previous nine months. At a press conference following lengthy discussions with the visiting German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Europe cannot decide to put its energy needs first while requesting New Delhi to take another action, claiming that talks between India and Russia to increase trade began long before the war in Ukraine, NDTV reports. Jaishankar said: “I understand that there is a conflict situation (in Ukraine). I also understand that Europe has a point of view and Europe will make the choices it will make that is Europe’s right. But for Europe to make choices which prioritises its energy needs and then ask India to do something else…” Read: Russian oil shipments to central Europe expected to resume Jaishankar also said that pressure on pricing is also being exerted by Europe’s purchases of Middle Eastern crude oil. The Indian foreign minister commented, “And bear in mind, today, Europe is buying a lot (of crude oil) from the Middle-East. The Middle-East was traditionally a supplier for an economy like India. So it puts pressure on prices in the Middle-East as well. We have been very very understanding of the European choices and European policies.” He was quoted by NDTV as saying: “I think first we need to establish the facts very clearly. Between February 24 and November 17, the European Union has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined. The oil import in the European Union is like six times what India has imported. Gas is infinite because we do not import it while the European Union imported 50 billions Euros worth (of gas).” Read: Bangladesh may prefer to import Russian oil via third country While pledging to further cooperate in the areas of defence and security, commerce, climate change, and renewable energy, the two foreign ministers also signed a bilateral mobility agreement that would make it simpler for individuals to study and work in each other’s countries. The German foreign minister stated at the joint news conference that China has changed significantly in recent years and “the whole region can see this and feel this”, in reference to the country’s “growing aggressiveness”. Baerbock, who was in India for a two-day visit, also promised to shorten the wait time for visas. The talks also touched on Pakistani cross-border terrorism, the situation in Afghanistan, and developments in the Indo-Pacific, according to the NDTV report. Read: Fuel import from India through pipeline to start from 2023: PM Russian oil imports into India have significantly increased during the past few months. According to New Delhi, it is its essential responsibility to make sure that Indian consumers have the greatest possible access to the worldwide markets on the most favourable conditions.

The maiden shipment of 25 lakh litres of crude oil imported from India reached the country on Saturday, aiming to tackle the ongoing fuel crisis. Representatives of Bangladesh and India formally released the crude oil at Aqua Refinery jetty in Gorashal of Narsingdi in the morning. Private company Aqua Refinery Limited imported Naphtha (crude oil) from Indian Oil Corporation Limited through Indo-Bangladesh Inland Waterways Protocol Route.  Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) director Rafiqul Islam, Indian Oil Corporation Limited Bangladesh country manager Mazhar Alam, Aqua Refinery Limited director operation Ershad Hossain, Shanghai ship owner Masudur Rahman, Aqua Refinery deputy managing director Sajedul Siraj, general manager GM Jahangir Alam, among others, were present at that time.   Read: Fuel crisis hits filling stations in Thakurgaon After the refining process by Aqua Refinery, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will buy the crude oil and provide it to the consumer level within one week. Amid the unprecedented situation due to fuel crisis, the government recently announced suspension of production in diesel-run power plants. It resorted to one –hour area based load shedding across the country to save energy. The government has also taken some austerity measures including reducing consumption of power at government offices to save power and energy.

Asian shares were mostly lower and oil prices fell Tuesday after another day of losses on Wall Street as anxiety over the war in Ukraine and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates keep global financial markets on edge. Markets remain jumbled as investors try to gauge various economic impacts from the war in Ukraine, upcoming rate hikes by central banks and new virus lockdowns in China. Tokyo rose while markets in China, Australia and South Korea fell. Stocks have fallen sharply in Hong Kong recently, sinking to near six-year lows after the neighboring city of Shenzhen was ordered into a shutdown to combat China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years. The Hang Seng index lost 2.4% early Tuesday to 19,068.49, while the Shanghai Composite gave up 2.1% to 3,157.14. Also read: Asian shares extend losses as oil prices push higher Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 25,385.11, while the Kospi in Seoul gave up 0.6% to 2,630.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.6% to 7,108.80 and shares also fell in Taiwan and Bangkok. Oil prices have tumbled, taking some pressure off the inflation sweeping the globe, with a barrel of U.S. crude falling below $100 per barrel after touching $130 last week. U.S. crude shed $4.14 to $98.87 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It tumbled $6.32 to $103.01 on Monday. Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, gave up $3.90 to $103.00 per barrel. Uncertainty about whether the world economy may be heading for a toxic combination of stagnating growth and persistently high inflation has cast recoveries from the pandemic in question as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused prices for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the region to soar. That has brought sharp day-to-day and hour-to-hour reversals across markets, as expectations for worsening inflation rise and fall. “Markets appear to have been trafficking in an odd mix of hope, fear and uncertainty," Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. Also read: Oil prices jump, shares sink as Ukraine conflict deepens On Monday, negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met over video conference for a new round of talks, after the two sides expressed some optimism in the past few days. The talks ended without a breakthrough after several hours. The negotiators took “a technical pause,” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said, and planned to meet again Tuesday. Investors were already uneasy before the war began because central banks around the world are preparing to shut off the stimulus they pumped into the global economy after the pandemic struck. The wide expectation is that the Federal Reserve will raise its key short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. It would be the first increase since 2018, and it would pull the federal funds rate off its record low of nearly zero. On Monday, the S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.7% lower, at 4,173.11, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially unchanged at 32,945.24. The Nasdaq fell 2% to 12,581.22. Small company stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 index slid 1.9% to 1,941.72. The pullback came as the yield on the 10-year Treasury touched its highest level since the summer of 2019. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 2.16% from 2.00% late Friday after earlier touching its highest level since July 2019. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for Fed policy changes, rose to 1.86% from 1.75%. The Fed faces the challenge of raising rates just quickly and high enough to bat down inflation without overdoing it and causing a recession. The war in Ukraine makes the balancing act even more difficult. It’s pushing inflation higher by raising prices for everything from nickel to natural gas. And it’s threatening to pull down on economic growth. In currency dealings, the dollar rose to 118.34 Japanese yen, its highest level in about six years, from 118.18 yen late Monday. The dollar tends to serve as a safe haven in times of crisis, and the prospect of higher interest rates enhances its allure to investors. The weaker yen is a boon to Japanese export manufacturers as it makes their products relatively cheaper and more competitive in overseas markets. Toyota Motor Corp.'s shares gained 2.5% early Tuesday, The euro rose to $1.0979 from $1.0941.

Already nearly two years behind schedule, Bangladesh's ambitious Single Point Mooring (SPM) project in Chittagong is likely to miss yet another deadline. One of this country's top priority infrastructure programmes, the SPM project is aimed at offloading imported crude oil at reduced cost and time. Initially chasing a December 2019 deadline, the project's latest timeline extension came in July last year. However, highly placed sources told UNB that even the revised June 2022 deadline for the project may be pushed by a couple of months -- till August next year, at least -- due to labour shortage in the wake of Covid-19 and the consequent lockdown. Read:Covid-19 to further delay Single Point Mooring (SPM) project in Chattogram In fact, some 200 Chinese workers who were supposed to come to Bangladesh for the project, have been stuck in their home country since the outbreak of Covid in December 2019, the sources said. “The Chinese contractor executing the SPM project on behalf of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has sought another deadline extension," said an official of Eastern Refinery Limited, a subsidiary of BPC. "We have forwarded the request to the higher authorities. Some 65 percent of work at the site is complete, but we will need another year (till August) to make the SPM project operational," said the official, who did not wish to be named. Read Bangladesh explores JV agricultural projects with South Africa When contacted, the managing director of ERL, Lokman Hossain, admitted the project’s current status but was quick to attribute the delay to Covid-19. "Though the laying of submarine pipelines has been completed, the SPM floating buoy is yet to reach the country. We hope it will arrive here by November this year.  Six oil tanks at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar also have to be installed," he said.  The SPM project was undertaken by BPC in 2012 to transport imported crude oil to the state-owned Eastern Refinery plant in Chittagong in order to reduce the transportation cost of crude oil fuel and also ensure prompt unloading from deep sea vessels. Read Red tapes are holding back the much-hyped Sundarbans conservation project

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, has significantly reduced its imports from the Middle East as part of a drive to diversify crude sources. The share of Middle Eastern crude in India’s oil imports fell to a 25-month low in May, tanker data provided by trade sources showed, as refiners tapped alternatives in response to the government’s call to diversify supplies. Read: India looking for more foreign investments in Oil sector: minister The Middle East’s share dropped to 52.7 per cent, the lowest since April 2019 and down from 67.9 per cent in April, the data showed Lower purchases of oil from the Middle East dragged Opec’s share of Indian oil imports to a record low. Imports from Saudi Arabia, India’s second-largest supplier after Iraq, dropped by about a quarter from a year earlier, while supplies from the UAE, which dropped to No.7 position from No.3 in April, fell by 39 per cent, the data showed. Indian refiners hiked imports from Latin America, the US and the Mediterranean to replace Middle Eastern oil. Read: The 'Future' of Reliance: A mega deal destined to shape future of India;s retain space post covid “Indian refiners bought higher volumes of gasoline-rich US oil in March, expecting a recovery in local gasoline demand to continue in the months ahead,” said Ehsan Ul Haq, lead analyst for oil research and forecasts at Refinitiv. According to analysts, India had directed refiners to diversify crude sources after the Opec and its allies ignored New Delhi’s call to ease supply curbs. Asia’s third-largest economy imported about 4.2 million barrels per day of oil in May, just below the previous month but about 31.5 per cent higher than a year earlier, the data showed. US and Canadian oil accounted for about seven per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, of India’s imports compared to 4.5 per cent and 0.60 per cent a year earlier. The US emerged as the fifth biggest supplier to India, up two places from 2019-20. Iraq remained India’s top oil supplier in the Middle East followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Nigeria replaced Venezuela as the nation’s fourth-biggest supplier. (This article was first published in Khaleej Times) 

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday approved eight proposals, including the import of 1.3 million metric tons of crude oil and 105,000 metric tons of fertilizer from foreign sources.