Eastern Refinery resumes operations on 8 May as crude arriving after 2.5 months
Located in Patenga near the port, it is Bangladesh’s sole refinery and has remained shut for over three weeks due to crude shortages.
State-owned Eastern Refinery Limited is set to resume operations on 8 May as a vessel carrying 1 lakh tonnes of crude oil is scheduled to reach the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port today (6 May).
Located in Patenga near the port, it is Bangladesh's sole refinery and has remained shut for over three weeks due to crude shortages.
Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, deputy general manager (planning and shipping), said preparations were in place to resume operations from the morning of 8 May.
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He said up to three lighter vessels can unload crude oil each day, each carrying around 4,000 tonnes. Operations will begin once at least 8,000 tonnes are received.
The crude shipment is being transported by MT Ninemea, which departed on 21 April from Yanbu Port, a vital Saudi Arabian energy hub located on the Red Sea coast. The vessel is due to arrive at around 11am.
Captain Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, general manager (chartering and tramping) at Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, said the arrival time may vary slightly but unloading will begin immediately using lighterage vessels.
According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, refining operations at the plant were suspended on 14 April due to a lack of crude supply.
The last shipment arrived on 18 February. Subsequent imports were disrupted by the Iran war, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for crude shipments from the Middle East to Asia.
A planned 1 lakh tonnes cargo from Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia on 3 March was cancelled, along with another shipment from Abu Dhabi, worsening the supply crisis.
Officials at the refinery said they had continued limited operations using around 5,000 tonnes of crude left in the Single Point Mooring pipeline at Maheshkhali, along with residual stock from five storage tanks.
Typically, about 1.5 metres of crude remains as dead stock at the bottom of tanks, becoming unusable below one metre. As reserves fell below usable levels, operations were halted from 14 April.
Another 1 lakh tonne due this month
After months of supply disruption, a second 1 lakh tonne of crude shipment has been scheduled. The cargo will be imported from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and will consist of Murban crude.
The vessel is expected to be loaded at Fujairah Port on 10-11 May before sailing for Chattogram port. Chartering firm Bangladesh Shipping Corporation has already dispatched a tanker for the operation.
Captain Mujibur Rahman said the vessel is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on 22-23 May.
According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the country imports 65-68 lakh tonnes of fuel annually, with diesel and crude accounting for the largest share.
Around 15 lakh tonnes of crude are imported from the Middle East each year and processed at Eastern Refinery, which produces 16 types of products, including LPG, petrol, octane, kerosene, diesel and furnace oil.
In addition to crude, Bangladesh imports about 45 lakh tonnes of refined fuel annually from India and China. The refinery typically processes around 4,500 tonnes of crude per day. However, output was reduced to about 3,500 tonnes daily last month due to supply shortages.
By 4 March, usable crude stocks at the refinery had fallen below 2,000 tonnes. The plant mainly processes Arabian Light crude from Saudi Arabia and Murban crude from the UAE, with limited capacity to handle other grades.
Amid the supply crisis, the government approved a proposal in March to purchase 1 lakh tonnes of crude from Malaysia-based Abir Trade and Global Markets, but the deal was not finalised due to uncertainty over supply assurance.
