Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) expects Bangladesh's appetite for diesel to grow in FY26 despite the political turmoil in the country.
“We have just signed off on the (diesel) quantity, which is almost 1.5 times higher than what it used to be. Let us see how it pans out. They are going through a lot of difficulty as their economy is not doing well... and there may be some disruptions. But, so far, so good,” the company's Managing Director Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan told Moneycontrol.
NRL currently supplies 8 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) of diesel to Bangladesh every month. Phukan said the demand is slated to go up to 10-12 TMT per month in the next year.
NRL, a subsidiary of the state-run Oil India Limited (OIL), exports diesel and paraffin wax to Bangladesh. The company largely exports diesel to the neighbouring country through the pipeline connecting its Siliguri marketing terminal with Parbatipur in Bangladesh; the wax supplied is of minuscule quantities as of now.
Phukan said that NRL does not have any pending order with Bangladesh at the moment, and added that, “It (business with Bangladesh) is running very smoothly. We have not faced any disruption even in August (when the former government was ousted). Of course, they have their own constraints regarding the availability of foreign exchange, but still, they need energy, and they are taking. We have a confirmed LC (letter of credit), so payment is not a concern,” said Phukan.
The refinery has received payments from Bangladesh for the delivery of diesel supplies, which is in stark contrast to the payment issues with India's power companies. In August 2024, Adani Power, which supplies electricity to the neighbouring country from its 1.6 GW coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand, had approximately $1 billion in pending dues from Bangladesh.
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