Chattogram-Dhaka pipeline: Inaugurated 20 days ago but no fuel delivered

Diesel supply through the Chattogram-Dhaka Fuel Pipeline is yet to start, almost 20 days after its launch, as the authorities proceeded with inauguration despite having issues during trial runs.

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to power, energy, and mineral resources ministry, opened the 250km pipeline on August 16.

Officials now say its commercial operation has stalled due to discrepancies found during trial runs, specifically mismatches between the amount of diesel supplied and received.

Acknowledging the issues, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Md Amin Ul Ahsan yesterday told The Daily Star that they instructed the project implementation authority to investigate the matter.

"Commercial diesel supply through the pipeline cannot begin until the problem is resolved. We have asked the authorities to solve the problem urgently so that such issues do not recur in the future," said Amin.

However, the BPC chairman told this newspaper on August 5 that after several successful trial runs of diesel supply, they set August 16 as the commissioning date.

Responding to the question why the pipeline was inaugurated despite having issues, AKM Azadur Rahman, BPC director (operations), said, "This is not a major issue. The pipeline was formally inaugurated as part of the handover process of the project. Once oil is supplied regularly through the pipeline, this problem will not persist."

The state-owned BPC spent around Tk 3,699 crore from its own coffers to complete the project. Bangladesh Army's 24th Engineer Construction Brigade is the project implementing authority.

The pipeline is expected to supply 27 lakh tonnes of diesel and save around Tk 200 crore annually by eliminating the hassle of time-consuming fuel transport via rivers, according to BPC officials.

It comprises two segments -- a 241.28km stretch from the port city's Patenga to Godnail via Feni, Cumilla, Chandpur, and Munshiganj, and an 8.29km segment from Godnail to Fatulla.

According to BPC officials, the anomalies were detected while fuel was transported from Patenga's Padma Oil and Jamuna Oil depots to Fatulla, Cumilla, and Godnail during the trial runs in June-July.

The combined figure of the two state-owned distributors shows a total shortage of 3.39 lakh litres against the total supply of 3.34 crore litres of diesel, whose market value is Tk 3.45 crore.

Contacted, Mofizur Rahman, managing director of Padma Oil Company, and Qudrat-E-Elahi, MD of Jamuna Oil Company, on Tuesday said they wrote to BPC regarding the issue.

According to a BPC official, the allowable wastage (loss) margin for pipeline fuel transport is 0.05 percent. As per the 2009 gazette, the allowable wastage during inland diesel transportation by ship is 0.17 percent.

BPC has established a wing named Petroleum Transmission Company (PTC) to operate the pipeline project. PTC Managing Director Raihan Ahmed told this correspondent yesterday that the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade is yet to hand over the project to them.

Project Director Colonel Sultan Mahmud said the handover process has already begun.

"The 250km-long project is being handed over in phases. By the end of this September, the project will be fully hand over to the PTC," said the PD.

Regarding the issues during the trials, he said, "Such technical issues can occur at the initial stage of any major project. Due to variations in temperature, pressure, and the density of diesel in this long pipeline, some problems may arise.

"Efforts are underway to resolve the issues. We are hopeful that through fine-tuning, the problems will be solved very soon."

The 250km pipeline crosses at least 22 rivers and canals, including 10 rivers, with large portions laid beneath the riverbeds. There are nine pumping stations along the pipeline.

Approved in October 2018, the project was initially scheduled for completion by December 2020 at an estimated cost of Tk 2,861 crore. However, construction delays led to cost escalation and deadline extensions -- first to December 2022 and then to December 2024.