47 lakh litres of diesel reach Parbatipur via India-Bangladesh pipeline

India has supplied an additional consignment of diesel to Bangladesh to meet rising demand for fuel in the country.

Nearly 4,000 tonnes (MT), or 4.7 lakh litres, of diesel arrived at the Parbatipur Receiving Terminal Depot in Dinajpur from India through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, reports NDTV.

The consignment was the 72nd to be delivered through the pipeline. The transfer began at 9am on 13 September and was completed on 15 September, Md Robiul Alam, operation manager of the Parbatipur Rail Depot, said.

Under a bilateral agreement signed in 2018, Bangladesh agreed to import around two million tonnes of diesel from India over 15 years. Since the pipeline became operational in March 2023, Bangladesh has imported 330,087 tonnes of diesel through it.

India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015. Cooperation in the power and energy sector has been a key area of bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Bangladesh section of the pipeline is 126.57 kilometres long and runs through parts of Panchagarh, Nilphamari and Dinajpur before reaching Parbatipur.

Bangladesh stepped up diesel imports from India this year amid supply challenges. It imported 17,000 tonnes through the pipeline in March, 25,000 tonnes in April, 8,000 tonnes in May and another 8,000 tonnes in July.

The March shipment came as Bangladesh faced supply pressures amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

In August, Bangladesh requested India to supply more fuel oil through the frienship pipeline.