Sample of Russian oil arrives in Dhaka

About 50 litres of sample fuel oil from Russia arrived at the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said yesterday.

The fuel, however, has not yet been released by the customs. After release, it will be taken to the state-owned oil refinery Eastern Refinery in Chattogram for tests, BPC officials told The Business Standard.

A senior BPC official, requesting not to be named, told TBS that the sample has been sent by the Rosneft Oil Company, which is a Russian integrated energy company. The sample has been delivered to a postal company named Difutr OU.

Khalid Ahmed, director (Operations & Planning) at the BPC, told TBS that they have heard that a sample delivery reached Dhaka.

"But we are yet to receive the delivery. So, we do not know how much the quantity is," he said.

Talking about the progress of Russian refined fuel, Khalid said they are still analysing the pros and cons of the proposals that include invoice, freight cost and load point of the fuel.

"Even if the government decides to import Russian fuel, it won't be possible to receive it before next January as the import schedule is occupied till December with the existing suppliers," he further added.

Currently, the BPC imports refined fuel from eight countries – Kuwait, Malaysia, the UAE, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and India.

The BPC received proposals from various companies regarding the import of oil from Russia.

The corporation is looking at the issue of how to get the oil by initially selecting three companies. 

A discussion is underway with the ministry and the companies in this regard.

Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the price of fuel oil has increased in the global market. 

However, the price of Russian oil dropped following the US-led western countries' sanctions on Russia. In this situation, various countries, including India and China, are buying oil from Russia at a low price.

Amid this, Russia also offered Bangladesh to buy its crude oil in March and refined oil last May. 

Sources at the BPC said for crude oil, companies offered oil that contains 5,000 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur which is too heavy for the Eastern Refinery Limited, the lone oil refinery of the country. 

For refined fuel, however, the companies proposed a similar sulphur content that Bangladesh now uses. 

At present, Bangladesh imports 50ppm mixed refined fuel against the benchmark 350ppm of the Bangladesh Standards & Testing Institution.  

Meanwhile, in order to import cheaper oil from Russia, on August 16 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the relevant ministries and departments to figure out a way to import fuel oil from Russia.

Following her directives, the BPC formed a committee to scrutinise the scope to import Russian oil - that includes its price, payment method, currency, fuel loading point etc. 

Khalid Ahmed said a team is working on the issue. But he did not give any specific time when the committee will submit their report.