About 2.8 lakh litres of hoarded fuel oils have been recovered since Friday from different parts of the country, but still the government is struggling to check the high demand amid supply disruption of petroleum products because of the rising war in the Persian Gulf.

– Tk 1 lakh bounty offered for informant
– 2.8 lakh litres of fuel oils recovered
– Readjustment of fuel prices on table
– 1.5 lakh tonnes diesel to be imported in April
– Current stock 1.33 lakh tonnes
– Half a dozen alternative fuel oils import sources knocked
– Octane and petrol cards in offing

Of the stockpile, diesel is 1.40 lakh litres, octane 22,539 litres and petrol 46,146 litres, said Energy Division officials at a hurriedly called press briefing at the secretariat on Monday.

Fines worth Tk 75.16 lakh were exacted from offenders, they said.

The briefing was convened one day after the killing of a pump station manager in Narail on Sunday following his altercations with a truck driver while the mismanagement in overall distribution system continued to result in long queues in filling stations and suffering of consumers in the capital and other cities.

Officials said that the Energy Division was reviewing a proposal from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation for readjustment of fuel oil prices as per the periodic review introduced in February, 2024.

Monir Hossain Chowdhury, a joint secretary at the Energy Division, said that a decision in this regard would be taken soon.

Amid complaints of hoarding against the high demand and persisting queues for fuel at filling stations, the government has fielded vigilance teams in 64 districts on Friday.

On Monday, the Energy Division offered rewards of Tk 1 lakh for information about smugglers and hoarders of fuel oils.

Information about hoarding and smuggling is imperative for the local administration to widen the countrywide current drive, according to a press release of the division on the day.

Our correspondent from Chattogram reported that a mobile court on Monday seized about 25,000 litres of diesel stockpiled illegally in an area adjacent to the Fauzdarhat Cadet College in Sitakunda upazila.

Dismissing any shortage of fuel oils, the Energy Division attributed the long queues of consumers in the filling stations for octane to psychological factors.

They said that around 1.5 lakh tonnes of diesel would be imported in April, said the officials.

The current stock is around 1.33 lakh tonnes.

The country consumed around 68 lakh tonnes fuel oils in 2024-25, 63 per cent of which was diesel and 12 per cent octane and petrol.

Around 40 per cent higher amount of fuel oils has been supplied in March this year, compared to March 2025, said the officials.

Bangladesh has, meanwhile, knocked non-traditional sources like the United States, Azarbijen, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Angola, and Australia for importing fuel oils following supply disruptions in the Gulf region, added the officilas.

Dhaka mainly outsourced fuel oils directly and indirectly from the Gulf region comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

But the current war jointly by the US and Israel on Iran in the Persian Gulf, accounting for half of the global energy outputs, caused disruption in supply and led Dhaka to explore alternative sources to ensure energy security for the upcoming months.

Dhaka has already asked Iran to allow Bangladeshi vessels with energy items to pass through the Start of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the Persian Gulf accounting for 20 per cent of the global daily oil supply, now controlled by Tehran.

Besides, diplomatic efforts have been beefed up to win the US consent for buying six lakh tonnes of diesel from sanction-hit Russia with a two-month waiver, said the officials while referring to the letter Dhaka sent to Washington on March 18.

Monir Hossain Chowdhury said that they were expecting a positive nod from the US soon as India was allowed with one-month waiver by the US to buy fuel oils from Russia.

According to him, a positive response has already been received from India on the import of extra 22,000 tonnes diesel against the demand for 50,000 tonnes by June this year.

Dhaka is also expecting 60,000 tonnes of diesel to be supplied by PT Bumisak Pugaka Zapin of Indonesia soon following a discussion completed on March 19.

On Sunday, the Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners Association in a meeting with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation chair Md Rezanur Rahman in its liaison office at Karwan Bazar in the capital demanded the introduction of a token against each of the vehicles from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority to streamline fuel oils rationing to consumers.

The proposal has been given to check the high demand, said Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners Association president Syed Sazzadul Karim.

On Monday, the Energy Division officials said that an app had been prepared to introduce fuel cards, initially to facilitate the octane and petrol consumption.