India to consider Bangladesh’s request for additional diesel supplies

The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) made a request for 5,000 tonnes of diesel to be supplied from Numaligarh refinery in Assam over the weekend

Updated on: Mar 10, 2026, 23:00:42 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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India has maintained regular supplies of diesel to Bangladesh under an existing contract and Dhaka’s request for additional supplies will be considered while keeping in mind availability and market conditions, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The request from Dhaka has come at a time when both countries are engaged in efforts to repair their relations. (Image sourced from bdnews24 website)

The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) made a request for 5,000 tonnes of diesel to be supplied from Numaligarh refinery in Assam over the weekend to tide over an energy crisis brought on by the Iran-US conflict, which has disrupted energy supply chains.

The people said that the cross-border Friendship Pipeline, operationalised in 2017, has been supplying diesel to Bangladesh on a commercial basis from Numaligarh Refinery Limited.

“This diesel supply is part of regular ongoing energy trade between the two countries,” one of the people said. “Fuel availability in India is being closely monitored.”

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Bangladesh’s request for additional diesel supplies will be considered in the context of domestic availability and conditions in the global market, the people said. The request from Dhaka has come at a time when both countries are engaged in efforts to repair their relations after a period of intense strains, and New Delhi has traditionally played a crucial role in meeting the energy needs of neighbouring countries.

Bangladesh has closed universities and introduced fuel rationing because of the worsening energy crisis. Public and private universities across the country were shut on Monday, as authorities brought forward the Eid ⁠al-Fitr holidays as part ⁠of emergency measures to conserve fuel. Bangladesh, which relies on imports for 95% of its energy requirements, imposed daily limits on fuel sales after panic buying last week.

The demand for additional diesel stocks, in order to maintain stable fuel reserves and ensure uninterrupted supplies, was raised by Bangladesh’s finance minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury during a meeting with Indian high commissioner Pranay Verma over the weekend. Reports in the Bangladeshi media said Dhaka had sought an additional 50,000 tonnes of diesel over the next four months from India.

This is in addition to an existing agreement for Bangladesh to import 180,000 tonnes of diesel from the Numaligarh refinery by December 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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