NEW DELHI, March 17 - The first export lot of high speed diesel (HSD), produced by the Numaligarh Refineries Ltd (NRL), was flagged off to Parbatipur storage depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) from the refinery�s Siliguri Marketing Terminal by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday.
The goodwill rail rake consignment for supply of 2200 MT (2700 KL) HSD of BS III Grade, with 350 PPM sulphur content, is an outcome of the agreement between the two governments, official sources here said.
The 42 wagons, each with a capacity of 64 kl rail consignment, will travel over 516 km � 253 km within India and 263 km in Bangladesh � on the existing railway line via Rangapani, Singabad, Rohanpur to Parbatipur, where it will be received by Nasrul Hamid, Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Government of Bangladesh, and High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla on March 19.
The present consignment is a symbolic gesture of friendship and cooperation between India and Bangladesh. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in June last, both countries signed a sale-purchase agreement between NRL and BPC for construction of a pipeline from Siliguri to Parbatipur for supply of HSD to Bangladesh, said sources.
It was agreed to jointly work towards implementation of this �Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline�, a 135-km pipeline project, 5 km in India and 130 km in Bangladesh, with a capacity to carry 1 MMTPA from Siliguri terminal to Parbatipur depot. The export of petroleum products from India to Bangladesh is also in line with the �Neighbourhood First Policy� of the Government of India to boost bilateral trade between the two countries and sub-regional cooperation within the SAARC.
Once the NRL refinery expansion from present 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA is complete, India will be in a position to export petroleum products on a regular and long term basis to Bangladesh.
During the flagging-off event, Lok Sabha MP SS Ahluwalia, senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of External Affairs, Railways and Customs Department, State and district administration and Numaligarh Refinery Limited were present.
