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Akbar Novruz

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Bangladesh’s only state-owned oil refinery, Eastern Refinery PLC, has suspended operations due to a shortage of crude oil, according to officials familiar with the situation, AzerNEWS reports.

The last refining activities took place on Sunday afternoon, as imports of crude remained disrupted amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.

Authorities indicated that refinery operations are unlikely to resume until at least the first week of May, when the next shipment of crude oil is expected to arrive. Despite the halt, Bangladesh’s Energy Division has assured that existing reserves of refined fuel are sufficient and that domestic supply will not be affected in the short term.

Prior to the shutdown, ERL had been maintaining limited operations by relying on approximately 5,000 tonnes of crude trapped in the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, along with so-called “dead stock” from storage tanks. Normally processing around 4,500 tonnes of crude per day, output had already been reduced to roughly 3,500 tonnes amid declining reserves.

Officials said usable crude stocks had fallen below operational thresholds, forcing the suspension. While an estimated 33,000 tonnes of crude remained in storage tanks, much of it was classified as “dead stock,” containing impurities that could damage refinery equipment if used.

According to data from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the country imports between 6.5 and 6.8 million tonnes of fuel annually. Of this, around 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil—primarily sourced from the Middle East—is refined domestically at ERL, which produces a wide range of petroleum products including LPG, petrol, diesel, and furnace oil.

Bangladesh also relies heavily on imports of refined fuel, bringing in approximately 4.5 million tonnes each year from countries such as India and China, highlighting the country’s vulnerability to external supply disruptions.