For the year 2024, Bangladesh would import 1.5 million (15 lakh) metric tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a virtual conference with Finance Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs adopted a proposal in principle.
As per the proposal of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, moved by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the crude oil will be imported through direct purchase method (DPM) which means there was no tender or competitive bidding process in selecting the supplier, as per thedailystar.
According to the plan, Saudi Aramco and the UAE-based Adnoc will provide the complete crude petroleum. While addressing media on the findings of the Cabinet body's meeting, Sayeed Mahbub Khan, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, stated that the cost or price of petroleum was not specified in the proposal as it came up for in-principle approval.
Bangladesh must import around 6.5 million metric tons of petroleum oil each year. About 1.5 million of these are crude, with the remainder being refined petroleum.
The Cabinet body approved, in-principle, another proposal -- of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority under the Department of Information and Communication Technology -- to appoint a private company for operation and maintenance work of its "Vision 2041 Smart Tower" in Kawranbazar, Dhaka. The company will operate the building under the "Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Eco-System" project after its construction work.