The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created fresh uncertainty for Bangladesh’s energy supply chain, delaying the departure of two crude oil shipments from Saudi Arabia that were scheduled to head to Chittagong earlier this month.
Officials at the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said the two tankers, each carrying about 1,00,000 tons of crude oil, were expected to depart Saudi Arabia on Monday after loading from state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco.
The shipments were scheduled to arrive in Chittagong by March 13, but have yet to leave port due to disruptions linked to the closure of the strategic waterway.
The delay raises concerns over the supply of raw materials to Eastern Refinery Limited, the country’s only state-owned refinery, which imports roughly 1.4 million tons of crude oil annually.
BPC Chairman Engineer Rezanur Rahman said the corporation has taken steps to ensure continued fuel supply despite the disruption.
“To maintain uninterrupted supply, letters of credit have already been opened for seven oil shipments by March 2,” he said.
Rahman added that contracts for importing refined petroleum products through June have also been finalized.
Those supplies will arrive from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, routes that remain unaffected by the current crisis.
According to BPC data, Bangladesh currently has fuel reserves sufficient for several weeks.
The country holds 14 days of diesel, 28 days of octane, 15 days of petrol, 93 days of furnace oil, and 55 days of jet fuel.
LNG shipments also uncertain
The disruption has also raised concerns about liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
Two LNG cargoes expected to arrive on March 15 and March 18 are now uncertain, according to Petrobangla officials.
Petrobangla Chairman Md Erfanul Haque said the authorities have contacted QatarGas regarding the shipments but have yet to receive a final confirmation.
“We are concerned about the cargoes scheduled for March 15 and 18,” he said. “QatarGas has indicated that emergency conditions may be applied to the contract, but they have not yet confirmed whether the shipments will proceed.”
He noted that Bangladesh’s limited LNG terminal capacity makes it difficult to arrange alternative cargoes at short notice.
Gas supply adjustments
To manage the uncertainty, Petrobangla has decided to reduce gas supply by around 200 million cubic feet per day, which is expected to save roughly 1,400 million cubic feet of gas over the next week.
According to Petrobangla sources, about 170 million cubic feet of gas per day is currently supplied to fertilizer plants.
Authorities are considering suspending that supply temporarily while also reducing gas allocation to the power sector from 870 million cubic feet to 820 million cubic feet per day.
On Monday, LNG imports supplied about 952 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid.
Officials said the situation remains manageable for now through stock management and supply adjustments, but warned that energy pressure could increase if the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues for an extended period.