Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is preparing to procure 16 lakh tonnes of fuel oil through government-to-government (G2G) agreements with 10 international suppliers, in a deal valued at approximately Tk200 billion based on current global market prices.
A high-level delegation led by Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku is scheduled to visit Singapore on 20 June to negotiate key components of the import arrangement. This marks the first time an energy minister will personally lead such overseas fuel procurement negotiations, a role typically handled at the secretary level.
The delegation will also include BPC Chairman Md Rezanur Rahman, a joint secretary from the Energy Division, and senior commercial officials from BPC.
Officials clarified that the upcoming discussions will not involve the base fuel price, which is determined through the Platts pricing formula. Instead, negotiations will focus on premiums, shipping charges, and insurance costs.
The fuel imports are expected to be supplied between July and December by major international firms, including ENOC, PetroChina, NRL, IOCL, PTT, Unipec, BSP, KPC, OQ Trading, and Petco Malaysia.
In parallel, BPC has already advanced another procurement process for 15 lakh tonnes of refined fuel through international tenders for the same period.
Officials expect that premiums may decline due to easing geopolitical tensions and a softening of global oil prices. Bangladesh currently imports around seven million tonnes of fuel annually, with roughly half sourced through tenders and the rest through G2G arrangements.
Final supplier allocations are expected to be confirmed after the Singapore negotiations conclude.
