Bangladesh’s Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) expect no immediate fuel supply crisis following a missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s large East-West pipeline that prompted Riyadh to halt crude exports to European refineries.

EMRD officials said existing crude imports will satisfy domestic demand for the next four months. Although several September cargoes bound for Europe were cancelled, Dhaka has received no indication of disruptions to shipments arriving in Bangladesh.

Monir Hossain Chowdhury, joint secretary and spokesman for the EMRD, told Bonik Barta: “We have no message about our imports being stopped due to the Saudi fuel crisis. We source a large portion of our fuel from this region, China, Malaysia, Singapore. We import crude oil from Saudi Arabia. So far we have two ships in stock, which means no crude problems for the next four months.”

Bangladesh imports 1.4 million to 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually against total fuel demand of 6.5 million to 7 million tonnes. The crude, sourced entirely from Saudi Arabia (Arabian Light Crude) and the UAE (Murban Crude), is processed by Eastern Refinery into 13 petroleum products including diesel, petrol and bitumen.

The pipeline disruption coincides with escalating conflict in the Middle East and mounting security risks across key maritime transit corridors. With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb effectively suspended, Brent crude futures have risen above $108 a barrel. Energy analysts warn that if the situation deteriorates further, fuel supply shortages could have a major negative impact on Asian markets.

In response, BPC has begun seeking alternative crude sources. The corporation has also held talks with alternative suppliers.

Md Rafiqul Islam, the newly appointed chairman of BPC, told Bonik Barta: “Currently there’s adequate oil stock in the country, and there will be no fuel shortage until next December. BPC has also already begun talks with alternative sources of crude oil.”

The corporation has identified four alternative crude types that Eastern Refinery can process using existing facilities: Nigeria’s Bonny Crude, Malaysia’s Malaysian Blend, Norway’s Alvheim Blend and Algerian crude.

BPC said the four types can be processed and marketed using the existing refinery facilities. In April, Eastern Refinery submitted a sample-testing report to BPC.