July 12, 2011 [The Financial Express] - The government of Bangladesh has taken up a massive move to build a dozen new oil storage tanks at depots due to inadequate holding capacity against the swelling petroleum import for the newly set up oil-based power plants, officials said.
Energy division officials said they would install 12 oil storage tanks with over 0.12 million tonnes capacity at four major depots across the country within the current fiscal 2011-12.
“There is no option but to upgrade oil storage capacity at depots as the fuel import will jump to nearly five million tonnes next year from 3.5 million tonnes this year,” a senior energy ministry official told the FE.
Oil demand has sharply increased as the government has set up dozens of diesel and furnace oil-based power stations within the last two years. Few other oil-based power plants will go into operation within the next couple of years.
The state-owned oil companies have inadequate oil storage capacity as it imports nearly 3.5 million tonnes of oil annually to feed the energy-hungry Bangladesh.
Energy ministry officials said three oil companies would set up nine oil storage tanks at three depots and the sate-owned crude oil refinery firm Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL) will install three other storage tanks.
The state-owned oil supplier — Jamuna Oil Company Ltd — will install three diesel and furnace oil storage tanks, each with 10,000 tonnes capacity, at its Baghabari warehouse in Pabna by June next year investing Tk 419.20 million.
The present oil storage capacity of the Baghabari depots is 42,000 tonnes, officials said.
Meghna Oil Company Ltd. will construct three diesel and furnace oil storage tanks, having 10,000 tonnes capacity each, at Chittagong depots investing Tk 280.65 million within this fiscal.
The state-owned oil refinery company Eastern Refinery Ltd. (ERL) will install 39,000 tonnes capacity three diesel and furnace oil storage tanks by June 2012 at a cost of Tk 473.6 million on its plant premises in Chittagong.
The state-owned Padma Oil Company Ltd. will build a 7,000 tonnes capacity JET A-1 fuel and a total 15,000 tonnes capacity two diesel storage tanks at Godenail warehouse in Narayanganj investing Tk 271.1 million within June next year.
The existing capacity of the Godenail warehouse is 11,708 tonnes of diesel, 500 tonnes of furnace oil and 3,042 tonnes of JET A-1 fuel.
Officials said another 5,000 tonnes capacity JET A-1 storage tanks and 5,000 tonnes capacity furnace oil storage tanks are under construction at the Godenail depot.
A senior Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) official said the existing fuel storage capacity is very insufficient for the country to handle the huge inflow of fuel required to run the new diesel and furnace oil-based power plants.
