Shed over pipeline, drill below: landlord jailed

An investigation committee has made 10 recommendations after oil was stolen from a Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) underground pipeline in Mirsarai, Chattogram, while the owner of a shed built over the line has been arrested and sent to jail.

The theft came to light on 8 January in Wahedpur union, north of Hadi Fakirhat Bazar and west of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. 

Sources said a tin-shed structure had been built above the pipeline, and special equipment was used inside it to puncture the line, about 10 feet below ground, and draw off oil. The activity went on in secret for a long time and was not easily noticed because of the structure.

According to the sources, local resident Md Absar built a house on government land close to the pipeline and let it out. 

A second tin-shed house was later built in front of it and rented to Amirul Islam of Sonadanga, Khulna. Amirul and his associates allegedly punctured the pipeline and fitted a connection to collect the oil.

On the night of 7 January, rising pressure in the pipeline damaged the connection, and oil began to escape through the hole and spread. Amirul and the others involved left the scene. The next morning, local people saw the oil and began collecting it in containers, and the matter became public.

Officials from the upazila administration, police, fire service and BPC reached the site. Residents were moved away to avoid an accident, and repairs began. 

Several drums, a drill machine and other equipment used in the theft were recovered. Initial information put the puncture about 12 feet below ground. 

As the oil spread into a nearby pond, the quantity stolen has not been determined.

On 10 January, Petroleum Transmission Company (PTC) PLC, the BPC subsidiary that oversees the line, formed a five-member committee headed by Chattogram-Dhaka pipeline project director Aminul Haque to assess the damage and the oil lost. It was given seven working days to report. The committee identified weaknesses in security, maintenance and surveillance.

Its recommendations include action under contract against JSS Service Limited, the company responsible for security, for failing in its duties. 

Businesses set up near the pipeline on Roads and Highways Department land are to be removed, along with houses, shops and trees on land acquired along the route.

Vendor Benchmark Consulting is to ensure that the pipeline intrusion detection system (PIDS) and leak detection system (LDS) work promptly. Contractor Newtech International is to maintain instruments along the line and install any that are missing. The optical fibre cable (OFC) is to be replaced quickly so that SCADA, PIDS, telecommunications and CCTV function properly. Experienced, skilled staff are to be recruited to PTC PLC.

The committee also called for specific policy on protecting the pipeline's right of way, a security law, and a magistrate under PTC PLC to remove illegal structures on government and acquired land beside the line. Chainage post distances are to be updated, and the telephone numbers on the posts replaced with working mobile numbers for the terminal control room.

BPC Deputy General Manager (administration-finance) Mahbubur Rahman filed a case with Mirsarai police station, naming three people and accusing four or five unidentified others. 

Absar's wife Nurjahan Begum was detained for questioning. Absar, named in the first information report, was arrested and sent to jail through the court. Police are still trying to arrest the other accused.

The pipeline, about 250 kilometres long, cost nearly Tk3,700 crore. It carries oil from Chattogram via Barura in Cumilla to Godnail in Narayanganj and Fatullah in Dhaka, taking about four hours against roughly 24 hours by waterway.

At the site, the eastern part of the shed has been demolished, but the western part remains, locked, without electricity and empty. 

Local resident Iftekhar Hossain said no signboard with instructions had been put up after the repairs, and that the remaining structure should also have been demolished.

Mirsarai police station Officer-in-Charge Farida Yasmin said BPC had filed the case, that the accused landlord had been sent to court, and that a drive to arrest the others was continuing.

Aminul Haque is now retired. 

The committee's member secretary, BPC Deputy Manager (commerce and operations) Tanzin Hossain, is in the United States and could not be reached. 

Mahbubur Rahman could not be contacted by phone.