Filling stations to come under automation

In a landmark decision, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is contemplating to automate the filling stations across the country to stop fuel adulteration and ensure quality services.

Under the plan all 2,300 filling stations will be networked and connected to a mother server, it is learned.

The plan was placed before junior minister of Power Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Nasrul Hamid, by joint secretary to BPC Anupam Barua, on placing the plan.     

Hamid said that the initiative to make the filling stations automated and upgraded must be implemented quickly.

However, the monitoring of the fuel oil could also be done at any specific filling station by installing some modern devices. And, thus, the quality surveillance will be ensured across the country’s filling stations.

If done, the sales data from any filling station will be posted to the central server together with its inventory status. The mechanism will also allow the authorities to learn how much fuel oil is being purchased from the authorised dealers.

The State Minister said at the review meeting that the central management would also log the GPS location of a particular filling station. Therefore, it is likely that the layout, design and model need renovation or complete overhauling, in the light of existing policies.

Hamid said the surveillance will help authorities to stop oil pilferages.

It will update the overall status of filling stations with GPS location, which will be good for the government.

After the meeting Anupam Barua told the Business Insider Bangladesh that through the system “we will identify the sick refueling station and dishonest sellers who do malpractices while selling oil.”

The system will collect the report from the depot that will help the server to monitor any fuel smuggling during transportation to divisional cities.

As the plan, the Indian trucks entering Bangladesh with goods will not be able to buy fuel oil from Bangladesh.

Barua said BPC was supposed to introduce the system a couple of years ago. But it could not implement the project. He thinks the project will be implemented within a year.

There are a total of 2,297 filling stations in the country.

Senior Secretary to Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Department, Md. Mahbub Hossain, Chairman of BPC ABM Azad NDC, Managing Director of Padma Oil Company Md. Abu Saleh Iqbal and other senior officials were also present in the meeting.