The government on Wednesday suspended a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs that was due to consider proposals to import up to 1.475 million tonnes of diesel through a direct procurement process, following a series of media reports that raised questions over the planned purchases.
The committee had been scheduled to review proposals submitted by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) seeking policy approval to procure diesel from 15 international suppliers under the Direct Procurement Method (DPM), bypassing competitive bidding.
Officials had argued that the emergency procurement was needed to bolster the country’s fuel reserves amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns that the Iran-Israel-US conflict could disrupt global energy supplies.
The proposed imports included EN590 ultra-low sulphur diesel (10 parts per million) and 50 ppm diesel. The largest single consignment was 125,000 tonnes from AKA Energy Ltd., while another 50,000 tonnes was to be sourced from Energy Multinex Converence Technologies LLC. The remaining proposals involved consignments of 100,000 tonnes each from a range of overseas suppliers, bringing the total planned imports to approximately 1.475 million tonnes.
The list of proposed suppliers included Pacific Silverline Limited, Total Trading International, SITIZAMAN International Pte Ltd, Eighteen Solutions SDN. BHD, Importaciones Bravo Group-Chile SpA, Royal Babji Fuel Trading LLC, Sinoproud Import & Export Corp. Ltd., Health Icon International Holdings Pte Ltd., Kumarangazy Oil Field (KOF), H2O Petro-Chem International Pte Ltd., H2O Construction Pte Ltd., Black Swan Global-FZCO and OKERIEL Corporation.
No contracts had been awarded before the cabinet committee meeting was suspended.
Officials said Bangladesh’s fuel supply position has improved since early April after regular suppliers resumed deliveries to the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). Some suppliers had previously delayed shipments or declared force majeure following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, but imports have since increased, easing concerns over domestic fuel availability.
Bangladesh relies heavily on imported petroleum products, leaving it exposed to global oil price volatility and disruptions to international shipping. Crude oil is imported mainly from Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, while refined petroleum products are procured through government-to-government agreements with suppliers including Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, PETCO Trading Labuan Company Limited, Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Pte Ltd, PetroChina (Singapore) Pte Ltd, PT Bumi Siak Pusako, Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd, PTT International Trading Pte, Numaligarh Refinery Limited and OQ Trading Limited. Additional fuel is purchased through international tenders.
Government sources said an earlier attempt to procure fuel through an emergency mechanism during the initial stages of the Iran-related crisis had encountered difficulties after concerns emerged over the experience and capacity of some participating companies.
Under Bangladesh’s procurement rules, suppliers are generally required to demonstrate the capacity to deliver at least five million tonnes of fuel annually and provide performance guarantees equivalent to at least 5% of the contract value.
Energy analysts have urged the government to carry out rigorous due diligence on prospective suppliers before awarding any contracts, including verifying their technical capability and financial strength.
They also noted that BPC’s planned US$2.5 billion borrowing from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to finance fuel imports should be used to procure petroleum products from qualified suppliers to strengthen the country’s long-term energy security.
Diesel is Bangladesh’s most widely consumed petroleum product, with daily demand estimated at between 12,000 and 12,500 tonnes, or around 5.5 million tonnes annually. It accounts for nearly three-quarters of all petroleum products handled by BPC.