Suppliers Decline 11 November Fuel Shipments as Deep Conspiracy Alleged Over Bangladesh Oil Imports
A fresh conspiracy over the country's fuel oil has been alleged. Several suppliers have expressed inability to deliver 11 fuel shipments scheduled for this November. Sector insiders say suspicion has grown because a businessman close to the ousted Awami League government is linked to those companies.
Those concerned say the timing cannot be a coincidence: fugitive Sheikh Hasina has announced she will return to the country next December, and a group's refusal to supply fuel just ahead of that period is being viewed with suspicion. They say it must be investigated whether the Awami League-linked businessman is involved in an attempt to put the government in difficulty.
Energy experts say compensation must be recovered from those involved, including blacklisted firms. Yet it is alleged that the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is about to award the same Awami League-linked company the job of supplying diesel and jet fuel at higher prices, even under open tendering, after long-term arrangements were cancelled.
Under the long-term contracts, the premium was $9.50 per barrel of diesel and $10.15 for jet fuel. Under the open tender method (OTM), the company will reportedly be paid $16.68 per barrel of diesel and $17.88 for jet fuel.
Under Package-02, the businessman's firm 'Vitol Asia' has received the work order for 230,000 tonnes of diesel and 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel. Bangladesh will have to pay an extra $14.793 million on this package alone; at 123 taka to the dollar, the loss on a single shipment comes to about 1.82 billion taka.
In September, BPC had finalised a proposal to import 605,000 tonnes of diesel and 90,000 tonnes of jet fuel through OTM at premiums of $14.85 and $16.49 per barrel. The cabinet committee on government purchase did not approve it, calling the premiums too high. Yet work orders have allegedly been awarded in a secretly arranged OTM at even higher premiums.
The work order went to Dr Ejazur Rahman, known as an Awami League-linked businessman. His firms Seven Mark and Transbangla Commodities Limited are the local agents for six of the 11 international suppliers on BPC's list for fuel imports. Seven of the shipments whose suppliers expressed inability in November are reportedly linked to him.
BPC sources said inability was expressed for all 11 shipments on the November government-to-government (G2G) purchase schedule: Unipec Singapore's three diesel shipments on 19, 21 and 22 November and a jet fuel shipment on 24 November; Indonesia's PT Bumi Siak Pusako (BSP) diesel on 28 November; PetroChina International (Singapore) diesel on 10 November; and OQ Trading Limited of Oman's mogas on 23 November. Those shipments were meant to meet December demand.
According to BPC, work orders for a total of 5.51 million tonnes of refined fuel were awarded in fiscal 2025-26 through G2G and open tenders. About 4.3 million tonnes of that went to firms whose local representation or business links are in Dr Ejazur Rahman's hands — about 78 percent of all orders.
Earlier, cutting G2G fuel premiums saved $42 million in the six months from July to December 2025, former BPC chairman Md Amin Ul Ahsan had told reporters. He said G2G premiums had been $2 to $2.50 per barrel higher than open-tender prices, and the rates were reduced after meetings with suppliers.
Asked about the allegations, BPC chairman Dr Rafikul Islam said: 'I don't think there can be any conspiracy. Even so, I will look into the matter.' On why Dr Ejazur Rahman's company received work orders, he said: 'We cannot go outside the listed companies. But a tender has been called for listing, and we expect to get several new companies.'
Professor M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said what is happening with fuel tenders shows they are influenced by a syndicate everywhere. If a firm expresses inability to supply a shipment, the loss the state suffers must be recovered from the responsible company, he said.
