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Published : 15 Apr 2026, 03:23 PM
There will be no fuel shortage in the country in the next two months, even though crude oil imports have been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the war in the Middle East, says the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday, ministry spokesperson and Joint Secretary Monir Hossain Chowdhury said: "We will not have any fuel shortage in the next two months, Allah willing."
He said the government had given assurances about octane and petrol stocks, and now that same assurance applies to the storage of diesel.
Monir, however, revealed that the production at the Eastern Refinery Limited, Bangladesh’s only state-owned oil refining facility in Chattogram, is on a “low-feed” mode given the delayed crude oil supplies meant for March and April.
There are four units at the ERL, but only two are fully operational now, he said, adding the rest are undergoing maintenance because the crude oil supply is halted.
The ERL conducts such maintenance for one or two months annually, said the joint secretary.
Stating that up to 35,000 tonnes of crude oil is currently being refined at the ERL, he said the facility will resume full-fledged production next month.
Monir claimed that the ERL debacle will not affect the fuel supply channel.
“Because we have a sufficient amount of refined oil in stock.”
His remarks followed news reports that the ERL faced risks of halting production due to a severe crude oil shortage.
On Monday, a refinery official said processing activity moved into a critical phase in the afternoon as fresh crude supplies failed to arrive.
A senior official at the ministry then argued: “It cannot be called fully shut. Operations are being maintained using dead stock.”
No new shipments of crude oil have arrived in the country since the flare-up between Iran, the US, and Israel.
The last vessel carrying crude reached the country on Feb 18, and the refinery has been subsisting on that supply until now.
Although a shipment of 100,000 tonnes from Saudi Arabia was scheduled to arrive at the Ras Tanura terminal on Mar 3, the cargo failed to reach Bangladeshi shores due to the conflict.
The government has since secured a loan deal to purchase an equivalent amount of crude from Saudi Aramco through alternative channels.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, which owns the ERL, expects this shipment to arrive in May.
In the press conference, Monir expressed satisfaction with the diesel stock and said there will be no supply crunch in May either.
According to the ministry, the country's diesel reserves now stand at 130,385 tonnes, octane at 31,821 tonnes, petrol at 18,210 tonnes, furnace oil at 77,546 tonnes, and jet fuel at 18,223 tonnes.
The official told the press that 916 nationwide mobile court raids against illegal fuel hoarding were conducted between Mar 3 and Apr 14, when 3,510 cases were filed and Tk 15.6 million in fines issued.
Forty-five people were jailed and 542,036 litres of fuel were seized over the period.
He attested to the “mad rush” at refuelling stations in the capital, but argued the situation is not “so severe” outside Dhaka.
On importing oil from Russia, he said, "A letter was sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Details will be known from the ministry once the reply is received."
