The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has yet to begin operations for the Single Point Mooring (SPM) project, which was commissioned in March and completed in June after several deadline extensions. Despite finishing the commissioning, the project remains inactive due to a lack of skilled personnel and unavailability of offshore operational equipment. As a result, BPC is losing approximately Tk 66 crore each month, totaling around Tk 400 crore over the past six months.
The SPM project aims to provide a more efficient method for transporting fuel from ships to the Eastern Refinery, with expected savings of Tk 800 crore annually once operational. However, the interim government is currently reviewing loan agreements made by the previous administration, which has delayed new contracts necessary for activating the project.
BPC officials stated that the project was officially handed over last month, and there are no remaining obstacles to starting operations once operators are hired. The operational framework involves hiring a private firm for the first 1.5 years, after which BPC staff will gradually take over operations. Despite the anticipation of significant cost savings and efficiency improvements, the ongoing inactivity of the SPM project raises concerns about lost revenue and operational delays.
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