Bangladesh plans to build floating oil terminal in the Bay of Bengal

Bangladesh plans to build the country’s first floating oil terminal in the Bay of Bengal. The contract for the single point mooring (SPM) project near the Maheshkhali Island will be signed next month during the planned visit of China’s Prime Minister, The Financial Express reported.

The Energy Division has requested the Planning Commission to approve the project which will cost BDT 55.06 billion (USD 689 million). China will finance the project. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has written a letter to Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal to urgently approve the project.

“The Chinese Prime Minister is expected to visit Bangladesh sometime in September. During his visit, an agreement for building the SPM is likely to be signed. So we need approval of the project before his visit to Dhaka,” an official from the Energy Division said.

The initial estimated cost of the project, which was USD 129 million, has escalated to nearly USD 700 million due to design changes, The Financial Express reported. According to the new design, a floating terminal will be set up in the deep sea near the Maheshkhali Island of Cox’s Bazar district. Two parallel 96-kilometre pipelines from the floating terminal will be installed for unloading crude oil and refined petroleum products.