A shipment of crude oil is set to arrive in the country after nearly two and a half months. The oil tanker MT Ninemia, carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude, is expected to reach the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port today after departing from Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia. Unloading operations will begin immediately after the vessel anchors.
The arrival of this shipment has brought a sense of relief to the country’s energy sector. The state-owned Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the country’s only fuel oil refinery, is set to resume operations. Production at its main plant was halted on 12 April due to a shortage of crude oil. Officials expect the refinery to restart on 7 or 8 May once the shipment is received. A further 200,000 tonnes of crude oil are also being imported to ensure uninterrupted production. The refinery supplies slightly less than 20 percent of the country’s fuel demand.
Port sources said that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted following a US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Around 20 percent of the world’s fuel passes through this route, which is also used for Bangladesh’s crude oil imports. The country’s last crude shipment arrived on 18 February, and subsequent imports were delayed due to the conflict. At one point, the tanker Nordic Pollux, loaded with 100,000 tonnes of crude, was stranded at Ras Tanura Port in Saudi Arabia. Later, on 21 April, the MT Ninemia departed Yanbu Port for Chattogram using an alternative route.
Commodore Mahmudul Malek, Managing Director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, said the vessel is expected to reach the Kutubdia outer anchorage around 11:00am on Wednesday. The crude will then be unloaded through lightering—transferring it to smaller vessels—for transport to the refinery.
He added that another tanker, MT Fossil, is scheduled to load 100,000 tonnes of crude at Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates on 10 May and is expected to arrive in Chattogram around 20–21 May. Additionally, preparations are underway to load a further 100,000 tonnes from Yanbu Port in late May or early June.
ERL Deputy General Manager (Operations) Muhammad Mamunur Rashid Khan said the refinery could resume operations on 7 May or the following day once the crude reaches its storage tanks. Currently, three of its four units remain shut due to the raw material shortage.
After refining, ERL produces between 4,000 and 4,500 metric tonnes of various fuels and by-products daily, with diesel accounting for nearly 45 percent of output. The refinery processes around 1.5 million metric tonnes of crude oil annually.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
