The government has launched a comprehensive initiative to increase Bangladesh’s strategic fuel storage capacity to 90 days. The move aims to strengthen national energy security to protect the economy and ensure uninterrupted industrial production against global geopolitical and market uncertainties.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Md Rezanur Rahman announced that the strategic fuel storage capacity will rise from the current 60 days to 71 days by December 2026 and ultimately reach the 90-day target by 2027.
To achieve this goal Energy Division and the BPC are expanding existing storage infrastructures, building new depots and refurbishing inactive tanks. They also plan to lease surplus storage facilities from both private companies and public sectors like Bangladesh Railway and the Power Generation sector.
Bangladesh's total demand for petroleum products in the 2026 calendar year is projected at 8.42 million tonnes. Currently the BPC's six operating companies have a combined storage capacity of over 1.54 million tonnes. BPC's direct storage reserves currently last 57 days for diesel, 46 days for octane, 29 days for petrol and 78 days for furnace oil. Officials assured that there is no immediate fuel shortage in the country.
Key infrastructure projects are already helping to boost these figures. The commissioning of the Parbatipur depot in June, under the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline project, added over 28,000 tonnes of storage capacity in the northern region. BPC plans to construct four more depots at Parbatipur by 2027, alongside expanding several regional depots in Narayanganj, Cumilla and Sylhet.
Energy experts have lauded the government's strategy noting that converting underutilized tanks and leasing idle public-private facilities is a highly cost-effective alternative to acquiring new land for massive infrastructure projects.
