India Sends 47 Lakh Litres of Diesel to Bangladesh via Friendship Pipeline

Nearly 4,000 metric tonnes — or about 47 lakh litres — of diesel have reached the Parbatipur Receiving Terminal Depot in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, from India through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

The delivery was the pipeline's 72nd consignment. The transfer began at 9 am on September 13 and concluded on September 15, according to Md Robiul Alam, Operation Manager of the Dinajpur Parbatipur Rail Depot.

The shipment is part of a 2018 bilateral agreement under which Bangladesh agreed to import around 2 million tonnes of diesel over 15 years. Since the pipeline was inaugurated in March 2023, Bangladesh has imported 330,087 tonnes of diesel through it.

The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in March 2023. Its foundation stone was laid by both leaders in September 2018. Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015.

The pipeline is the first cross-border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh, with a capacity to transport 1 Million Metric Ton Per Annum of High-Speed Diesel. It is also the second cross-border energy pipeline between India and its neighbours.

Cooperation in the power and energy sector has become one of the hallmarks of India-Bangladesh relations.

In March this year, as Bangladesh faced a supply challenge amid Middle East tensions, 17,000 metric tonnes of diesel were imported through the pipeline. Bangladesh imported 8,000 tonnes of refined diesel from India in July, after buying 17,000 tonnes in March, 25,000 tonnes in April, and 8,000 tonnes in May.

In August this year, India received Dhaka's request for an additional supply of petroleum products.