India to cooperate with Bangladesh on LPG issues

Bangladesh yesterday sought India's assistance in setting up of a network for supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to high-rise buildings and apartments, cooperation in the field of bio-fuels and training of its personnel in hydrocarbon sector.

India has agreed to work with Bangladesh in these sectors and share its experiences.

Dhaka's request for India's help and the latter's response came when Bangladesh State Minister State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid met India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here.

Pradhan discussed with Hamid the issue of supplying high speed diesel (HSD) from Siliguri (West Bengal) terminal of India's state-owned Numaligarh Refineries Ltd (NRL) to Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), an official statement said.

NRL and BPC have agreed to the supply and purchase of HSD for 20 years through the proposed India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline between Siliguri and Parbatipur. Both sides are working on the details of the pipeline project, including its financing.

The two ministers also discussed the status of various Indian proposals that have been shared with the Bangladeshi side, including the setting up of LPG import terminal at Chittagong by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and its onward transportation by road to a bottling plant in the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura and onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) in Kutubdia Island.

PLL is finalising a memorandum of understanding with Petrobangla on setting up of the LNG terminal. Both sides also discussed the possibility of supplying gas through a pipeline from Dhamra LNG terminal, which is under construction, to Bangladesh via Duttapulia in West Bengal.

Hamid and Pradhan reviewed the progress on the work being carried out by India's Engineers India Ltd (EIL) on the expansion of Eastern Refineries Ltd in Chittagong and the Indian minister assured his Bangladesh counterpart that EIL would complete the study in a professional manner.

Ms Padma Oil Company, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, had selected EIL for conducting the feasibility study of the multi-product 270 kilometre pipeline from Chittagong to Dhaka.

The issue of exploratory activities by India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd was also reviewed by the ministers.

Hamid's visit is a follow-up of Pradhan's visit to Bangladesh in April this year.

During the meeting, Pradhan thanked Bangladesh for permitting Indian trucks to carry petroleum products from north-eastern Indian states of Meghalaya to Tripura via Bangladesh.

In August this year, the Bangladesh government had agreed to India's request to facilitate the movement of Indian Oil Corporation's trucks carrying petroleum goods to Tripura through its territory to address the shortage of these products in India's north-east region.

Heavy rains in the region had badly affected the roads, including a national highway, creating a scarcity of essential petroleum goods in Tripura.