The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh is going to receive the long-awaited diesel supply from India as the Numaligarh Refinery in Assam has started shipment of the fuel, Indian media reported.

The first consignment of 1,200 tonne, loaded in two barges of 600-tonne capacity each, left Silghat, the refinery's nearest loading point on the Brahmaputra river, last week and arrived at Guwahati for Customs and other clearances.

Two other barges, one of 1,200-tonne capacity and the other 600-tonne, are currently being loaded at Silghat in Assam and will leave for Bangladesh shortly. With this, a total of 3,000 tonne are to be imported by Bangladesh in the current year.

Four vessels have been placed in Silghat to carry forward the deal. Bangladesh has provided two vessels-Hang Gang and Darasaku while NRL has procured two local vessels, The Assam Tribune reported.

Meanwhile, the Brahmaputra waterways has once again received a shot in the arm as the Numaligarh Refinery is exporting diesel to Bangladesh by using the waterway, the newspaper said quoting Indian experts.

"It would give a fresh impetus to the export to the region. This will be a win-win situation for both India and Bangladesh that will further economic ties between the countries," it added.

Though the deal was inked between Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in May last, it took some time for port clearance. But that did not happen. The first shipment is now taking place. Declaring Silghat as the loading port under the India-Bangladesh protocol took time.

However, the agreement expires on December 31, 2007. Which means, the agreement has to be renewed before further shipments can take place.

As per the deal, Bangladesh will import 1.20 lakh MT of high speed diesel per annum. Bangladesh total demand for petroleum products is 2.2 million tonne per annum and it is met by importing from Gulf countries. But, the Bangladesh Government has come forward to buy diesel from Assam to avoid high transportation cost.

According to agreement with Bangladesh, Numaligarh refinery is to supply 10,000 tonne of diesel every month.

Quoting a spokesman for Numaligarh Refinery, the Hindu Business Line, a business daily from The Hindu group of publications of India, reported that discussion with the Bangladesh authorities concerned was in progress at the appropriate level for the renewal of the agreement. "Bangladesh is keen to continue importing diesel from Numaligarh," Numaligarh Refinery spokesman told the daily.

The spokesman estimated that a few more vessels would be needed if the targeted throughput of 10,000 tonne a month is to be achieved. The average turnaround time being 14 days, the existing vessels can handle at the most 3,000 tonne a month.

"From the refinery side we've no problem in supplying 10,000 tonne a month provided there are barges to transport it," he said.

Asked if more vessels were being chartered, the spokesman replied that the chartering of the vessels was being done from Mumbai by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, the major shareholder of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.

"But then having more vessels will serve no purpose till the agreement governing the shipment between the two countries is renewed," he added.

Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry officials in Dhaka said the import from India was delayed because of some complications with the Indian side as their customs authority took excessive time to clear the consignment.

"But despite that, Bangladesh will probably renew the agreement," a senior official of the Energy Ministry told The New Nation.