Operations at Eastern Refinery PLC (ERL), the country’s only state-owned oil refinery, have been suspended due to a shortage of crude oil, officials confirmed.

However, authorities have assured that the disruption will not affect the overall fuel supply in the country.

“We have suspended refinery operations for about a week due to a shortage of crude and for synchronisation purposes. We expect to resume full operations once the next shipment of crude arrives,” he told the Daily Sun today.

Supply disruption linked to regional tensions

Sources said the crude oil supply has been disrupted for nearly two months due to heightened tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States. Uncertainty over the movement of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has led to the cancellation of several scheduled shipments.

As a result, the refinery’s stock has been nearly depleted. In recent days, operations were sustained using residual oil — known as “dead stock” — from the bottom of pipelines and storage tanks.

Officials noted that continuing production in this manner poses risks to equipment and could potentially damage the refinery. Considering safety concerns, the authorities decided to suspend operations on Sunday afternoon.

ERL typically refines around 4,500 tonnes of crude oil per day. However, in response to the ongoing supply crisis, output had already been reduced to 3,500 tonnes per day over the past month.

No immediate impact on fuel supply

Monir Hossain Chowdhury, spokesperson for the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, said the temporary shutdown would not disrupt fuel supply across the country.

“Despite the closure of ERL, there will be no shortage of fuel oil, as sufficient stocks of refined petroleum products are currently available,” he said.

Officials expect a shipment of 100,000 tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia to arrive in Bangladesh in the first week of May, which would allow the refinery to resume normal operations.