PM Hasina, Modi to open cross-border oil pipeline today

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will jointly open the maiden cross-border oil pipeline on Saturday for diesel transportation to Bangladesh.

The two prime ministers will inaugurate the pipeline through a virtual programme around 5 pm, according to a press note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), officials in India would export diesel through the 130-km India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), built at a cost of around 3.46 billion Indian rupees drawn from the Indian line of credit (LoC).

The pipeline stretches 125 km inside Bangladesh territory and 5 km inside India while the two premiers joined the ground-breaking ceremony for the IBFPL in September 2018 through video conferencing.

Bangladesh has so far used to import diesel from India through railway carriages.

Earlier on March 10, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline at Parbatipur in Dinajpur will ensure power and energy security in the northern region.

Two and a half to three lakh tonnes of diesel will be imported annually from Numanigarh Refinery Station in India to Parbatipur Resort Terminal in Dinajpur through a 131.57-km underground pipeline.

In addition to reducing the cost, it has created a big ring for fuel security. At least 40,000 litres of fuel have been stored at the terminal and depot for two months.

The price of diesel per barrel imported in different ways is $11.50 because of imports through the pipeline, the price will come down to only $ 6.

With the import of diesel in Parbatipur, the supply of fuel will be ensured for the cultivation of irrigation pumps in the agriculturally dependent northern region and a power plant in Saidpur for the production of electricity.

At the end of the 15-year contract, it will either be renewed or run by the government itself.

On September 18, 2018, the two leaders inaugurated the pipeline construction work.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard on April 9 in 2018.