Bangladesh Plans to More Than Triple Oil Refining Capaci

Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL), which supplies around 40 percent of Bangladesh's fuel needs, said it plans to more than triple its oil-processing capacity with a 3.5 million tonne-a-year unit to help meet rising domestic demand.

 

The new unit at Patenga refinery in Chittagong will cost $1.7 billion, Nasrul Hamid Khan, Bangladesh's junior minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said on Tuesday.

 

The expansion will be mainly financed by ERL, according to a senior official of the ministry.

 

ERL, a subsidiary of state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), signed a deal on Tuesday with Engineers India Ltd, which will provide management consultant services for the expansion project.

 

The government will decide on the project developer through a tender.

 

ERL, Bangladesh's sole refiner, currently processes 1.3 million tonnes of crude oil annually.


(Reporting By Serajul Quadir and Nazimuddin Shyamol from Chittagong; Editing by Ryan Woo)