Expediting operation of oil pipeline
Business Report :
The Chattogram-Dhaka oil pipeline project has faced several forms of delay since its inception. Although approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) back in October 2018, the project’s launch was postponed, resulting in the original completion target of December 2020 being missed.
Subsequently, the deadline had to be extended twice – first to December 2022, and then again to December 2024. As a result, the initial project cost has escalated from Tk 28.61 billion to Tk 36.99 billion.
Despite nearing completion, the pipeline – which spans 237.71 kilometres from Padma Oil’s Patenga installations in Chattogram to the Godanail tank terminal in Narayanganj – is yet to become operational.
This is due to incomplete pre-commissioning work. Regardless of the technical or procedural nature of these formalities, they must not cause further delay to the commencement of fuel transportation through the pipeline.
The longer the commissioning is delayed, the more the dependency continues on private tanker lorries and coastal vessels for transporting fuel oil.
This mode of transport has long been plagued by widespread pilferage – a deeply rooted nexus involving transport operators and powerful quarters who have historically profited from stealing state-owned fuel during past autocratic regimes.
The scale of this unofficial operation is massive, with some 200 tankers reportedly transporting around 90 per cent of the oil via waterways.
Now that the era of autocracy is over, what is preventing the pipeline from becoming operational? If the hold-up stems from bureaucratic inertia, indecision, or inefficiency within the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), or perhaps due to delays in appointing an operator for the pipeline, then such procrastination is inexcusable.
Accountability must be ensured, and those responsible for administrative delays should be brought to task.
The primary aim of this pipeline is to save approximately Tk 2.30 billion annually in transportation costs – a goal currently being undermined. However, beyond cost savings, the time efficiency offered by the pipeline is of even greater significance.
Once operational, it will have the capacity to transport 2.62 million metric tonnes of petroleum products annually from the Chattogram port to the capital – eliminating many of the current logistical, financial, and safety concerns.
Crucially, the pipeline will not only serve the energy needs of urban industries but also facilitate the transport of 2.7 million tonnes of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) – a vital fuel for agriculture – to northern districts, thereby strengthening the country’s food security.
Presently, from Narayanganj’s Godanail and Fatullah depots, tankers carry oil via waterways to remote storage depots in districts like Baghabari (Pabna), Chilmari (Kurigram), and Sachnabazar (Sunamganj). With the pipeline in operation, these regions stand to benefit significantly.
In essence, every hour lost in commissioning this vital infrastructure represents a considerable economic loss. This is not the kind of inefficiency expected under the stewardship of the current interim government.
