The Tk8,298 crore Single Point Mooring (SPM) project, located 16 km offshore from Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar, has been idle for six months due to the failure to appoint an operator. Since its commissioning in March, the state-owned oil refinery continues to incur monthly transportation costs of Tk66 crore for imported petroleum oil. The SPM aims to reduce the transfer time for 100,000 tonnes of oil from 11 days to just two, potentially saving around Tk800 crore annually.
The project includes six storage tanks in Maheshkhali, enhancing Eastern Refinery’s capacity to store oil for two and a half months, thereby providing a buffer against supply disruptions. Despite a trial run in July last year, the lack of an appointed operator remains a significant obstacle. Initially, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) planned for a private operator to manage the SPM for the first 18 months, with a Chinese firm willing to operate for three years.Â
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