Bangladesh receives diesel from India via pipeline

Dhaka: Bangladesh has begun receiving diesel from India, with an initial supply of 5,000 tonnes expected by Wednesday, an official said on Tuesday, amid growing concerns about a fuel shortage due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

"We have started receiving diesel from Monday afternoon at Parbatipur depot in (northwestern) Dinajpur from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam through the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline,” a Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) spokesman said.

He said it could take nearly 45 hours to pump the 5,000 tonnes of diesel, meaning the process might continue until Wednesday evening.

"We are pumping about 113 tonnes of oil here every hour" he added.

Earlier, Bangladesh said India would send 5,000 tonnes of diesel under a long-term agreement and as part of an annual arrangement to deliver 180,000 tonnes.

The supply began shortly after Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma said New Delhi was actively considering Bangladesh's request for additional diesel as Dhaka sought to enhance its fuel reserves amid ongoing energy supply concerns.

"Bangladesh is a very important friend of India, and we want to provide all possible support for its progress," he said when asked about India's response to Dhaka's request for extra diesel supplies.

The envoy said India was “reviewing the request positively".

The Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline is about 131-km long and stretches from Siliguri Marketing Terminal in India to the Parbatipur Depot in Dinajpur. Diesel is transported directly through the pipeline. The pipeline was inaugurated in March 2023 during the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.

According to officials, the pipeline has the capacity to transport around 200,000 tonnes of diesel annually, and it would reduce both transportation time and costs. Bangladesh previously used to import diesel from Numaligarh Refinery through railway wagons.

Under an agreement, India is supposed to supply Bangladesh 180,000 tonnes of diesel annually through the pipeline. India was scheduled to supply 120,000 tonnes of diesel in 2026.

During a meeting of Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury with Verma on Sunday, discussions were held on a proposal to supply an additional 50,000 tonnes of diesel over the next four months through the pipeline.

The Indian envoy on Monday again met with Chowdhury and Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, who expressed interest in receiving supplies from the existing optional quantity of 60,000 tonnes under the agreement.

The development came as officials recently said Bangladesh was on the lookout for increased fuel imports from multiple alternative sources to address the ongoing energy supply crisis.

 Junior Foreign Minister Shama Obaed Islam on Monday told reporters that Dhaka expected cooperation from India on several bilateral issues since India said it wanted to “develop warm ties with Bangladesh after the assumption of the new government”.

 "We want diesel, we want water from them...Let's see what their response to our needs is," she said.

 According to the energy ministry data, in 2023 India supplied Bangladesh 35,718 tonnes of diesel; 28,204 tonnes in 2024 and 124,216 tonnes in 2025.

 Bangladesh has also imported jet fuel, furnace oil and octane from India at different times.

 Diesel accounts for some 65 to 70 per cent of total fuel demand, while Bangladesh imports over nearly 95 per cent of its oil and gas needs.

Bangladesh on Thursday asked citizens to minimise “unnecessary travels” as panic buying hit filling stations in the capital in the wake of the war in West Asia.