Eastern Refinery Shuts Down Amid Crude Oil Shortage

The Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), Bangladesh’s sole state-owned oil refinery, has suspended production following a severe crude oil shortage. The shutdown at the Patenga-based facility has halted the processing of 16 essential fuels, including diesel, octane, and petrol.

Production ceased on Tuesday afternoon after reserves hit critical levels. While the refinery attempted to manage the crisis using "dead stock" and pipeline residues since early April, the lack of fresh crude shipments—stalled by Middle East supply chain disruptions—finally forced a total shutdown of the main refining units.

Former ERL General Manager, Engineer Manjare Khorshed Alam, confirmed that only bitumen production remains operational on a limited scale. To mitigate a potential national energy crisis, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has increased imports of pre-refined fuel to maintain the domestic supply chain.

A delayed shipment from Saudi Arabia is cited as the primary cause of the exhaustion of stocks. A new vessel carrying 100,000 metric tons of crude is expected to load on April 18 and reach Chittagong by May 5. Officials anticipate a return to full production by the second week of May.

Despite the refinery closure, the Energy Department assures the public that existing stocks of refined diesel and octane are sufficient to meet immediate national demand.