The long awaited Single-Point Mooring (SPM) project, designed to streamline the importation of crude to storage facilities, is set for inauguration, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expected to officiate the ceremony this year.
Recognized as a top priority initiative by the Energy Division, the SPM project promises significant savings in fuel transportation costs, addressing a critical need in the energy sector. Officials said the test commissioning was successful and ended on Friday.
Industry insiders see it as an important shift from traditional techniques brought about by the use of Single-Point Mooring (SPM) technology, which ushers in a new era of efficient oil logistics.
Officials said, SPM offers a promising alternative to the intricate processes involved in traditional oil recovery. With this cutting-edge system, imported fuel oil is seamlessly transported from deep-sea locations directly to storage facilities at the Eastern Refinery, drastically reducing transit times and operational complexities.
Sources said, traditionally, fuel oil is transferred from large deep-sea vessels to smaller ones at Patenga Jetty in Chattogram, before eventually reaching storage at the Eastern Refinery. This convoluted process incurs significant losses, both in terms of time and resources. However, the advent of SPM is set to revolutionize this landscape.
The SPM system facilitates the uninterrupted flow of oil from deep-sea buoys to storage facilities at Maheshkhali via a 220-kilometer pipeline, before onward transportation to the Eastern Refinery through an underground network.
Energy Ministry officials hope this streamlined approach will dramatically reduce unloading times, with the offloading of 120,000 tons of crude fuel oil reduced from 11 days to a mere 48 hours. Similarly, the transportation time for 70,000 tons of diesel will shrink from 7 days to just 28 hours.
Following the successful completion of the fuel oil experimental circulation program, which saw diesel dispatched from the SPM storage in Maheshkhali on February 29, and crude oil transported to the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram on March 9, attention now turns to scaling up refining capacity to fully leverage the benefits of SPM.
Md. Sharif Hasnat, General Manager (Engineering & Services), Eastern Refinery Ltd and Project Director of SPM, acknowledged the existing limitations but reassured that efforts are underway to enhance refining capacity. All commissioning activities just ended finally on Friday. With 98.5 percent of the project already completed, the commercial deployment of SPM is imminent, pending the modernization of the Eastern Refinery.
He further said to Bangladesh Post, the state-owned Eastern Refinery had been anticipated to build its second unit for the last 12 years. Several attempts failed due to a lack of funding, and a strong decision. The project aims to enhance ERL’s crude oil refining capacity to 3.0 million MT annually. The SPM project implementation is the primary objective to start the ERL second unit.
State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid lauded the anticipated savings of Tk1,000 crores annually from oil transportation, underscoring the potential for even greater efficiencies through this state-of-the-art system.
Initiated in 2012 and awarded to the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) in 2016, the SPM project aims to enhance the efficiency of transporting imported petroleum to the state-owned Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) in Patenga, Chattogram. The comprehensive project includes the installation of an SPM, a 220-kilometer double pipeline, storage tanks, pump stations, and advanced SCADA systems, signaling a major advancement in oil logistics infrastructure.
The impending commercialization of single-point mooring represents a transformative milestone for Bangladesh’s energy sector. By optimizing fuel oil distribution and transportation while curbing wastage, this modernization initiative promises to bolster energy storage capacity and catalyze economic growth.
Policymakers are optimistic about the dynamic role this innovation will play in reshaping the country’s energy landscape for years to come.