Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has launched a tender process to appoint a contractor to operate and maintain the country’s first single-point mooring (SPM) system nearly a year after its commissioning.

The SPM, constructed by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd (CPPEC) under a government-to-government agreement, was officially handed over to BPC in August 2024 following successful testing in April.

However, according to BPC officials, the Tk 80 billion facility has remained idle due to the absence of an operator.

Despite the SPM being ready, BPC has continued to use lighter vessels to transport imported petroleum from offshore mother vessels to onshore storage, incurring significant additional costs. Industry sources say this reliance on smaller vessels costs billions of taka in operational inefficiencies.

The SPM system, designed to unload oil directly from large tankers—up to 100,000 deadweight tonnes—within 48 hours, could replace the current process that takes nearly 11 days. If operational, it would eliminate the need for lighterage vessels, for which BPC continues to pay $5.50 per tonne, mostly to Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.

Tender documents indicate BPC will accept bids until 19 June 2025. If the selection process proceeds smoothly, the contract could be awarded by November, nearly 18 months after commissioning.

Initially estimated at Tk 50 billion, the project’s cost rose by 60% during construction. It was financed through a $554 million concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, with repayment terms extending over 20 years at a 2% interest rate.