Bangladesh not buying Russian oil: Nasrul

Russia offered its crude oil to Bangladesh, but it is not possible to accept the offer right now, said Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources.   

The state minister made the disclosure at an event on Tuesday organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB), marking the golden jubilee of PDB.

The state minister said, “Eastern Refinery in Bangladesh refines crude oils. But the crude from Russia is heavier and thicker which is not possible to refine here.”

Informing that Bangladesh is getting offers from many other countries, Hamid said, “We use crude from Saudi Arabia which is lighter. The Russian crude does not match with ours. And we also do not have any scarcity of crude.”

The state minister also informed that Bangladesh regularly monitors the oil price in the global market.   

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh has sought support from India to import Russian crude oil.