Fuel Supply to Increase from Today

The government has decided to increase the supply of fuel oil starting today to ease the abnormal pressure in the domestic market. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has announced additional allocation for diesel, octane, and petrol. Octane supply will be increased by 20 percent, while petrol and diesel will each see a 10 percent rise.

According to various sources, demand has recently surged by nearly 30 percent compared to normal times. However, supply was previously being provided based on last year’s average. This mismatch created a shortage in the market. To address the situation, new pump-wise allocations are now being determined with the assistance of district administrations to ensure supply matches actual demand.

Diesel accounts for about 63 percent of the country’s total fuel consumption. In April, diesel demand stands at around 4 lakh tonnes. Currently, effective stock is approximately 1.02 lakh tonnes. Additionally, over 1 lakh tonnes of diesel is expected to arrive through four more ships. Around 80,000 tonnes have been kept in reserve for emergency use. Due to limited supply, daily average sales in April had dropped to 11,107 tonnes. From today, this will be raised to around 13,000 tonnes. Last year during the same period, daily average sales were 11,862 tonnes.

Although there is no direct shortage of octane, demand pressure is high. Currently, around 29,484 tonnes of octane are in stock, sufficient for about 25 days. To reduce pressure at the consumer level, daily supply is being increased from 1,129 tonnes to around 1,366 tonnes — an additional 237 tonnes. In April last year, daily average sales were 1,1185 tonnes.

Petrol supply is also being increased. Current stock stands at around 18,830 tonnes. Although daily average sales in April were 1,253 tonnes, an additional 137 tonnes are being added. During the same period last year, the figure was 1,374 tonnes.

Fuel officials said that normally demand increases by 4 to 5 percent annually. However, this year it has risen abnormally due to the international situation and panic buying. Therefore, efforts are underway to normalise the market by increasing supply according to actual demand.