Fuel import deal with Kuwait extended for another year
Unb, Dhaka
The Advisers Council on Public Purchase, known as Cabinet Purchase Committee, yesterday approved a proposal to extend the existing agreement on fuel import from Kuwait by another year. After the approval by the top policymaking body of the caretaker government, the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will now have the scope to continue its import of petroleum fuel from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) until December 2008. Bangladesh annually imports about 2.0 million (20 lakh) tons of refined petroleum from Kuwait while it imports 1.4 million (14 lakh) tons of crude oil from India, Saudi Arabia and some other Middle East countries to meet the entire demand of 3.2 million (32 lakh) tons. The BPC, a statutory body under the energy ministry, has been importing petroleum from Kuwait since 2005 under an agreement signed in October 2004. The agreement, which was due to expire in December 2007, will now remain valid until December 2008. The Cabinet Purchase Committee meeting, chaired by Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam, approved another proposal of the energy ministry to import 35,000 barrels of lube-base oil from Belgium-based AP Chemicals at a cost of Tk 29.21 crore. The committee also gave its final approval to a proposal of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) for importing 12,500 metric tons of urea fertiliser.
| 
