Special Correspondent:The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has constituted a six-member inquiry committee to investigate allegations that Super Petrochemical Limited concealed the rejection of its previous request to operate a refinery when submitting a fresh application. However, administrative records reveal that the board note proposing the committee’s formation also omitted any reference to the prior rejection. Furthermore, the official who prepared the note has been designated as the committee’s member secretary.

The committee was formally established via an official order signed by BPC Secretary and Government Deputy Secretary Shahina Sultana on Tuesday (25 August). The panel has been tasked with conducting an on-site inspection of Super Petrochemical’s plant, gathering detailed data regarding its processing capacity expansion and project progress, and submitting a comprehensive report within seven days.

Addressing the matter, BPC Secretary Shahina Sultana stated: “The note was approved by the Operations Division, who designated the committee members and submitted the proposal. The committee was formed following board approval. In light of several media reports, the committee has been instructed to review the findings and submit its report within seven days.”

When asked about the omission of the rejection history in the board note, she added: “I am unaware of the details regarding the note’s contents. Following formal approval, I issued the office order in accordance with standard procedure.”

According to the BPC order, Senior General Manager (Accounts) A T M Selim has been appointed convener of the inquiry panel, with Deputy Manager (Trade and Operations) Tanjin Hossain serving as member secretary. Additional members include General Manager (Finance) Morshed Hossain Azad, General Manager (Distribution and Marketing) Ferdousi Masum Himel, General Manager (Trade and Operations) Jahid Hossain, and Deputy General Manager (Planning and Shipping) of Eastern Refinery PLC, Md. Masudul Alam.

The order directs the committee to review recent media coverage—specifically a report titled “Super Petrochemical Building Refinery Despite Rejected Application”—and conduct a physical inspection of the facility located in the Juldha Union area on the south bank of the Karnaphuli River. The final findings are to be submitted directly to the BPC Chairman.

A review of the board note presented to the BPC leadership shows that while it detailed Super Petrochemical’s September 2024 application, the subsequent formation of an inspection team, and the transmission of that team’s April 2025 report to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, it completely omitted the government’s subsequent rejection of the application.

Records indicate that on 25 September 2024, Super Petrochemical applied under the Policy on Private Sector Refinery Setup, Crude Oil Import, Storage, Processing, Transportation, and Marketing 2023, seeking authorization to import, store, process crude oil, and market refined products independently.

Following a directive from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, BPC formed a seven-member inspection committee in October 2024. The panel inspected Super Petrochemical’s CRU plant and proposed project site in February 2025, submitting its report to the BPC Chairman on 8 April 2025, which was subsequently forwarded to the ministry on 20 April.

On 16 November 2025, the Operations-1 branch of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division issued a formal letter to the Managing Director of Super Petrochemical, rejecting the 2024 application.

However, two and a half months after the rejection, on 29 January 2026, Mohammad Mustafa Haider, Managing Director of Super Petrochemical, submitted a new application to the Secretary of the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Division. The updated proposal outlined plans to construct a crude oil refinery with a processing capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per year to produce Euro-5 standard petroleum products, raising total facility capacity to 1,546,381 metric tonnes annually. The project details included a Crude Distillation Unit, Diesel Hydrotreater, Residue Desulfurization, and Isomerization units.

Notably, the second application contained no reference to the 16 November 2025 rejection order, nor did it cite the original 2024 application.

Following the new application, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division sought BPC’s official stance on 3 February 2026. During BPC’s 1017th Board Meeting on 8 February, the board explicitly documented the prior rejection in its official minutes.

The board minutes noted that the government had already approved the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) Unit-2 project, which would triple public-sector refining capacity and maximize the utilization of the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system. Consequently, the board advised that granting a private entity permission to import, process, and independently market crude oil required further in-depth evaluation.

Furthermore, the board minutes highlighted that the 16 November 2025 rejection was grounded in the Condensate Policy 2014, which stipulates that petrol, octane, diesel, kerosene, or LPG produced by private fractionation plants using domestic or imported condensate cannot be directly marketed in the domestic retail sector.

Despite these board observations, both Super Petrochemical’s second application and the BPC internal note sheet prepared on 23 August 2026 omitted the rejection history.

The internal note was drafted by Deputy Manager Tanjin Hossain, endorsed by Manager Md. Istiaq Hossain and General Manager Mohammad Jahid Hossain, signed by Director (Operations) A K Mohammad Samsul Ahsan, and ultimately approved by Monjur Alam Pradhan, Additional Secretary of the Energy Division currently holding additional charge as BPC Chairman.

Responding to queries regarding the non-disclosure in the note sheet, Tanjin Hossain, Member Secretary of the newly formed investigation committee, stated: “The initial rejection of Super Petrochemical’s refinery proposal was communicated to higher authorities via a separate confidential document. Therefore, it was not reiterated in the committee formation note sheet. Now that the committee is operational, it will thoroughly verify all aspects and present a complete report.”

Attempts to reach BPC Director (Operations) A K Mohammad Samsul Ahsan by phone were unsuccessful as his mobile device was powered off. Additional Secretary Monjur Alam Pradhan did not respond to multiple phone calls or WhatsApp messages seeking comment.

The six-member committee is expected to complete its field evaluation and submit its final report to the BPC Chairman within seven days.