Transfer of crude oil from a mother vessel to pump station and tank farm through a newly-inaugurated pipeline had to be halted three days after it was put into operation in Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali.
Md Lokman, managing director of Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), confirmed the matter saying that the release of crude oil from a Saudi Arabian vessel-loaded with 82,000 tons of crude oil stopped due to faults in the supply line.
He said 7,000 to 8,000 tons of oil have so far been released from the mother vessel.
The rest will be extracted with lighterage, the old method using smaller vessels to unload the oil from the large tanker.
The ERL officer mentioned that the Chinese organization that is implementing the project is addressing the issue and anticipates that operations will resume soon.
On June 24, the 229 metre long and 12.5 metre draught Saudi vessel “MT Horai” carrying 82,000 tons of oil anchored in the deep sea of Bay of Bengal in Maheshkhali.
Though it was supposed to release the oil from the mother vessel on the following day, it was suspended due to adverse weather.
Later on July 3, the single point mooring (SPM) allowing transfer of oil through pipeline from vessels anchored in the deep sea became operational, and was connected to the Saudi vessel to transfer the oil.
After commissioning the pipeline last Sunday, the transfer of crude oil started around 10am last Monday.
According to the project, the SPM was set up around six kilometers off the coastal area of Maheshkhali in the sea.
The oil was being released with two pipelines with a diameter of 36 inch before the suspension.
And, finally the oil was taken to the storage of the ERL in the Patenga area of the port city of Chittagong.
