Monir Hossain Chowdhury, spokesperson and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, on Monday said Bangladesh has sufficient reserves of petrol and octane to meet demand for the next two months.
Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat, he also assured that diesel supply remains stable, particularly to support agricultural activities.
Chowdhury said current fuel stocks stand at 113,085 metric tonnes of diesel, 31,821 tonnes of octane, 18,021 tonnes of petrol, and 77,546 tonnes of furnace oil.
He acknowledged that crude oil shipments from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were disrupted in March and April due to instability in the Strait of Hormuz. However, existing reserves have ensured uninterrupted fuel supply.
A new crude shipment is expected to arrive by late April or early May, with a vessel already en route from Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia.
The spokesperson said authorities conducted 916 mobile court drives between March 3 and April 14, filing 3,510 cases and collecting fines worth Tk 15.6 million. A total of 45 individuals were sentenced to imprisonment.
During the operation, officials seized over 542,000 liters of illegally stored fuel, including diesel, petrol, octane and furnace oil.
Chowdhury noted that Eastern Refinery Limited supplies around 20% of the country’s fuel demand, processing about 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually.
He said even if refinery operations face temporary disruption, fuel supply will remain stable due to adequate reserves.
On fuel pricing, he added that the government has not taken any decision to increase prices, considering public hardship.
