DHAKA, July 31, 2025 (BSS) – The first ever petroleum pipeline from southeastern port city of Chattogram to capital Dhaka is set to be operational from mid August, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) officials said here  today.

The BPC officials said they were preparing to make operational the 250-kilometre long oil pipeline expectedly from August 16 as its construction works were completed with the help of army sappers at a cost of about Tk. 3,700 crore.

They said state-run corporation will be in charge of operation and maintenance of the pipeline.

“The pipeline will save a huge amount of money minimizing pilferage and system loss,” Adviser of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said.

He said the transportation of oil in petroleum tankers used to cause the system loss twice – during loading and unloading process.

BPC officials supplemented the adviser saying the pipeline would also minimize scopes for pollutions.

The officials said a 16-inch diametre pipe was installed 241 kilometres from Patenga to Godnail in Narayanganj while a depot was installed at Fatullah, 8.29 kilometres off Godnile through a separate pipeline of 10-inch diameter.

A BPC official said the underground pipeline made its way beneath 22 rivers and cannels while nine pumping stations were built in the entire system.

A previous such pipeline called Bangladesh-India Maitree Pipeline was built from India to Bangladesh to import diesel.

BPC officials said they were now also building another pipeline to unload crude oil from the sea.

According to BPC officials oil tankers used to take at least 24 hours to transport petroleum from the port city of the river port won of Narayanganj while the pipeline would transport the oil just in four hours.

Currently, BPC spends Tk. 326 crore every year on transporting oil from Chattogram to Dhaka by oil tanker. But if the pipeline is operational, the cost will be Tk. 90 crore only and save at least Tk. 226 crore annually.

The pipeline will prevent pilferage and steal of oil, the information said.

Authorities sometimes experienced problems to transport of fuel oil due to inclement weather resulting in supply interruptions while the pipeline will solve the problem.

The project was implemented by the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army installing the computerized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition or SCADA system to monitor and control the transportation processes.

Bangladesh requires at least 6.5 million tonnes of petroleum annually, of which one million is imported from India through the pipeline and the of the volume is transported by oil tankers from Chattogram.

The trial operation of the pipeline was held on June 24.

The supplied fuel through pipeline will be pumped from the main tanks of BPC's fuel marketing subsidiaries Padma Oil Company, Meghna Petroleum and Jamuna Oil Company at Patenga Depot in Chattogram to the tanks of the same companies at Godnail Depot.