Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided to import 130,000 tonnes of diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in India.
This decision was sanctioned during a meeting of BPC’s board of directors last Sunday (12 January), according to a report by Times of India published on Tuesday (14 January).
Sources within BPC have disclosed that the diesel will be imported throughout the year, from January to December, at a cost of Tk1,137 crore taka.
This year, BPC's refined fuel requirement stands at 7.4 million tonnes, with diesel comprising 4.6 million tons, of which 80% is imported directly.
The remainder is supplied by local refineries.
BPC has been regularly importing refined fuel from NRL since January 2016, with diesel being transported by train to Bangladesh.
Previously, Bangladesh's interim government had approved the import of 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati parboiled rice from India to meet domestic demand.
Amid widespread protests leading to the ousting of the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, who sought refuge in India in early August last year, the relationship between Dhaka and Delhi has witnessed significant strain.
