The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) reportedly incurred a loss of nearly BDT 28 crore over three months due to irregularities in purchasing fuel from four domestic private catalytic reforming unit (CRU) refineries, according to a review of last fiscal year’s transactions.

Alongside imports, BPC buys and sells fuel from local private refineries, including Super Petrochemical Ltd. (Chittagong), Partex Petro Ltd., Aqua Refinery Ltd. (Narsingdi), and Petromex Refinery Ltd. (Mongla, Bagerhat). An internal investigation revealed that delayed issuance of government-mandated pricing notifications caused overpayments in March, April, and May of 2024–25 fiscal year.

Officials alleged that private companies benefitted because the BPC pricing committee failed to follow the government’s October 10, 2022, directive, which stipulates fuel prices be determined and published by the 7th of each month. Instead, notifications were issued late, causing BPC to pay higher rates.

A BPC investigation committee, initially tasked to report within 15 days, declared after three months that the matter was “sensitive” and claimed it was unable to conduct a full investigation due to the presence of senior officials on the pricing committee and potential conflicts of interest.

During the period, BPC purchased massive quantities of petrol, diesel, and octane from the four refineries. For example, in mid-May, purchases from Super Petrochemical included over 30 lakh liters of petrol and 43 lakh liters of diesel, while similar bulk volumes were acquired from the other three refineries. Delays in implementing the updated prices led to overpayments amounting to BDT 27.71 crore across March to May.

BPC officials involved, including former pricing committee secretary Shahriar Md. Rashed, claimed no wrongdoing, stating that pricing decisions were reviewed collectively and administrative delays were responsible for the overpayments. Private refinery representatives also denied allegations of receiving undue benefits.

Civil society groups criticized the irregularities, emphasizing that BPC funds are public money and urging authorities to identify and hold accountable those responsible. Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, General Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SUJAN) in Chittagong, called for strict legal action, saying, “The delayed notifications clearly indicate a manipulation that caused substantial financial loss to the state. The pricing committee cannot avoid accountability.”

BPC Secretary Shahina Sultana confirmed that the matter had been handed over to the relevant department for oversight after the committee reported its inability to investigate.