Operations at Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the only state-owned oil refinery in Bangladesh, have been suspended due to a shortage of crude oil.
ERL General Manager (Development and Control) Tajul Islam confirmed the matter on Tuesday, saying that the refinery has remained shut since Sunday afternoon.
“We have suspended refinery operations for about a week due to a shortage of crude and for synchronisation purposes. Full operations are expected to resume once the next shipment arrives,” he said.
However, the disruption will not impact overall fuel supply in the country, he added.
It was known that crude supply has been affected for nearly two months due to heightened geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Uncertainty over oil tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz led to the cancellation of several scheduled shipments, resulting in a significant drop in crude stock at the refinery.
In recent days, ERL continued limited operations using residual oil, commonly known as “dead stock,” from pipelines and storage facilities. However, officials warned that prolonged use of such reserves could damage equipment, prompting the decision to halt operations on safety grounds.
The refinery, which typically processes around 4,500 tonnes of crude oil daily, had already reduced output to 3,500 tonnes over the past month due to supply constraints.
Despite the shutdown, officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said there would be no disruption in fuel supply.
“Fuel oil supply will remain normal as sufficient stocks of refined petroleum products are available,” said the division’s spokesperson Monir Hossain Chowdhury.
Officials expect the situation to improve with the arrival of around 1 lakh tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in the first week of May. The shipment is expected to help resume full refinery operations.
