Crude supply helps Bangladesh refinery back to life

DHAKA, Oct 31 - Bangladesh's Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) has resumed production after being idle for nearly two weeks on a shortage of crude, officials said on Saturday.

Two tankers carrying around 1 million barrels of crude have arrived at the country's main Chittagong port near ERL over the last three days.

The suspension did not create a shortage of petroleum products because there had been sufficient stocks to meet demand.

The supply chain to the 30,000 barrel-per-day capacity refinery was disrupted after a tanker carrying crude failed to sail from Abu Dhabi following mechanical trouble in late September.

ERL is managed by state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, which is the sole importer and distributor of crude and petroleum products in Bangladesh.

During the suspension authorities carried out some repairs and overhauled the refinery. It also helped ERL exhaust its stock of furnace oil, a by-product consumed in the country.