DHAKA: Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC) issued an international tender on Wednesday to import refined oil products for the first half of 2018, officials said. The state-owned company is seeking 780,000 to 980,000 tonnes of 500ppm sulphur gasoil, 100,000 tonnes of jet fuel, 120,000 to 160,000 tonnes of 180-cst high sulphur fuel oil and 30,000 tonnes of 95-octane gasoline. The tender closes on Nov. 13 and is valid for 75 days to Jan. 26, 2018. The delivery of the cargoes will be carried out in phases in the first half of 2018, a senior BPC official said. Some volumes will also be imported through separate term deals, he told Reuters, without giving details.
BPC started issuing tenders for its long-term contracts in February last year after a 15-year hiatus, during which it directly negotiated with suppliers of fuel products. It wants to move away from direct deals as part of efforts to buy at cheaper rates through international tenders. A shortfall in supplies of natural gas has forced the South Asian country to burn oil, a costlier option, to generate electricity. Bangladesh typically ships in around 3.2 million tonnes of diesel and 2.5 million tonnes of fuel oil annually, making it one of the top 10 such importers in the region. The country’s imports are likely to boost the benchmark gasoil cash differentials further, after rising to multi-year highs in September.
