BPC wants info on private imports of petroleum

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation is seeking data on the import of petroleum products by the private sector to detect the illegal sources of supply at the filling stations and determine the actual demand for fuel in the country.

The state-run agency shared its views in a letter to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and wanted the National Board of Revenue to provide month-wise import data, including the names of the importing firms, type and volume of petroleum products, in the last two fiscal years (2014-16).

“The data on oil and condensate imports by the private sector is urgently needed to estimate the actual demand for petroleum products and identify illegal sources of fuel of unscrupulous filling stations, agents and dealers,” said the BPC letter, signed by its Chairman Md Mahmud Reza Khan.

The state organisation, which is responsible for importing petroleum products to ensure an uninterrupted supply in the country, said private power plants now also import petroleum products along with BPC. Private fractionation plants also import condensate.

A senior official of NBR said the revenue authority will provide data to BPC following the request.

Based on the BPC letter, the ministry asked NBR to provide information on fuel imports by the private sector by the end of last month.

BPC imported 13.03 lakh tonnes of crude oil and 34.03 lakh tonnes of refilled petroleum products in fiscal 2014-15, according to Bangladesh Economic Review.

On an average, BPC imports 50 lakh tonnes of fuel products a year. Of the amount, 64 percent is diesel, 17 percent furnace oil and 5 percent kerosene. The rest is octane, petrol and other products, according to an analysis of the finance ministry.

Of the fuel imports, 46 percent is used in the transport sector, 26 percent in power and 17 percent in agriculture.

It is estimated that in 2017, the country's demand for import of petroleum products will be 46.8 lakh tonnes, according to BPC. Despite repeated attempts, this correspondent could not reach BPC Chairman Reza Khan for comment over the phone.