Staff Correspondent

Indian state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has opened a liaison office in Dhaka to foster a growing partnership in energy between neighbouring countries.

High Commissioner Pranay Verma inaugurated the facilities on Monday in presence of NRL Managing Director Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan and Meghna Petroleum Managing Director Tipu Sultan, read a press release.

In his remarks, Pranay Verma said India and Bangladesh have made unprecedented progress in advancing relations between our two countries in the last decade.

The envoy said that collaboration in the power and energy sector has become one of the hallmarks of this all-encompassing relationship and the friendship pipeline is a testament to the growing partnership in this important sector.

He was happy to note that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has taken ownership of the pipeline and is now operating the pipeline with the last four consignments of high-speed diesel through the pipeline having been managed by them independently.

Verma said that with the inauguration of the liaison office, NRL would be able to more effectively explore such collaborations with the Bangladesh authorities in the future for the supply of petroleum products.

The Friendship Pipeline Project, which was jointly inaugurated by the prime ministers of India and Bangladesh virtually on 18 March 2023, is the first cross-border pipeline for the supply of petroleum products to Bangladesh.

This pipeline has a capacity to transport One Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel and has been completed at a total estimated cost of over 3.75 billion Indian Rupees, of which, over 2.85 billion Indian Rupees has been spent for construction of the Bangladesh portion of the pipeline under a Government of India grant.

Since inauguration of the pipeline last year, 42 TMT (Thermo-Mechanically Treated) of diesel with a total value of $34 million has been exported to Bangladesh.

With the completion of the pipeline, cross-border supply of high-speed diesel is being done faster and more economically with a minimal carbon footprint putting in place a sustainable, reliable and cost-effective way of transporting high-speed diesel to Bangladesh.