Numaligarh Refinery Opened First Overseas Office In Bangladesh

India's Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has opened its first overseas office in Dhaka. The office will serve as a liaison office for the company.

India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project 

• The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project was jointly inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina virtually on March 18, 2023. This project marks the first supply of petroleum products from a cross-border pipeline to Bangladesh.
• The pipeline has a capacity to transport 1 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel and has been completed at a total estimated cost of over Rs 375 crore. Over Rs 285 crore has been spent for the construction of the Bangladesh portion of the pipeline under an Indian government grant.
• Since the pipeline's inauguration last year, 42 TMT of diesel worth USD 34 million (Rs 282 crore) has been exported to Bangladesh. The pipeline has facilitated cross-border supply of high-speed diesel in a faster and more economical manner with a minimal carbon footprint. This has created a sustainable, reliable and cost-effective way of transporting high-speed diesel to Bangladesh.
• NRL has diversified its business into new areas beyond their core business as a downstream company. 
• A 130 KM Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) for transporting products from its terminal at Siliguri to Bangladesh was set up. 
• NRL has also set up the Country's first bamboo-based 2G Bio-Refinery through a joint venture company Assam Bio-Refinery Pvt. Under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) they have ventured into the upstream exploration and production business. 

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)

• Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) was established on 22nd April 1993 as a company. It was established  in accordance with the provisions made in the historic Assam Accord which was signed on 15th August 1985. 

India’s first refinery was set up at Digboi in 1901. Until 1947, this was the only refinery with a capacity of 0.50 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). 

• The present HPCL’s Mumbai Refinery was the first modern refinery to be set up after independence by Esso in 1954. 
• This was followed by setting up of refineries by other oil majors, like Burmah Shell and Caltex in Mumbai (BPCL) and Visakhapatnam (HPCL). Since then, refineries were established by the government, private sector, and joint ventures.