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Bangladesh has begun receiving diesel from India, with an archetypal proviso of 5,000 tonnes expected by Wednesday (March 11, 2026), an authoritative said connected Tuesday (March 10, 2026), amid increasing concerns astir a substance shortage owed to the ongoing situation successful West Asia.
"We person started receiving diesel from Monday [March 9, 2026] day astatine Parbatipur depot successful [northwestern] Dinajpur from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) successful Assam done the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline,” a Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) spokesperson said.
He said it could instrumentality astir 45 hours to pump the 5,000 tonnes of diesel, meaning the process mightiness proceed until Wednesday (March 11, 2026) evening.
"We are pumping astir 113 tonnes of lipid present each hour" helium added.
Earlier, Bangladesh said India would nonstop 5,000 tonnes of diesel nether a semipermanent statement and arsenic portion of an yearly statement to present 180,000 tonnes.
The proviso began soon aft Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma said New Delhi was actively considering Bangladesh's petition for further diesel arsenic Dhaka sought to heighten its substance reserves amid ongoing vigor proviso concerns.
"Bangladesh is simply a precise important person of India, and we privation to supply each imaginable enactment for its progress," helium said erstwhile asked astir India's effect to Dhaka's petition for other diesel supplies.
The envoy said India was “reviewing the petition positively".
The Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline is astir 131-km agelong and stretches from Siliguri Marketing Terminal successful India to the Parbatipur Depot successful Dinajpur. Diesel is transported straight done the pipeline. The pipeline was inaugurated successful March 2023 during the deposed premier curate Sheikh Hasina’s government.
According to officials, the pipeline has the capableness to transport astir 200,000 tonnes of diesel annually, and it would trim some proscription clip and costs. Bangladesh antecedently utilized to import diesel from Numaligarh Refinery done railway wagons.
Under an agreement, India is expected to proviso Bangladesh 180,000 tonnes of diesel annually done the pipeline. India was scheduled to proviso 120,000 tonnes of diesel successful 2026.
During a gathering of Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury with Mr. Verma connected Sunday (March 8, 2026), discussions were held connected a connection to proviso an further 50,000 tonnes of diesel implicit the adjacent 4 months done the pipeline.
The Indian envoy connected Monday (March 9, 2026) again met with Mr. Chowdhury and Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, who expressed involvement successful receiving supplies from the existing optional quantity of 60,000 tonnes nether the agreement.
The improvement came arsenic officials precocious said Bangladesh was connected the lookout for accrued substance imports from aggregate alternate sources to code the ongoing vigor proviso crisis.
Junior Foreign Minister Shama Obaed Islam connected Monday (March 9, 2026) told reporters that Dhaka expected practice from India connected respective bilateral issues since India said it wanted to “develop lukewarm ties with Bangladesh aft the presumption of the caller government”.
"We privation diesel, we privation h2o from them...Let's spot what their effect to our needs is," she said.
According to the Energy Ministry data, successful 2023 India supplied Bangladesh 35,718 tonnes of diesel; 28,204 tonnes successful 2024 and 124,216 tonnes successful 2025.
Bangladesh has besides imported pitchy fuel, furnace lipid and octane from India astatine antithetic times.
Diesel accounts for immoderate 65 to 70% of full substance demand, portion Bangladesh imports implicit astir 95% of its lipid and state needs.
Bangladesh connected Thursday (March 5, 2026) asked citizens to minimise “unnecessary travels” arsenic panic buying deed filling stations successful the superior successful the aftermath of the warfare successful West Asia.
