Bangladesh will renegotiate with USA and Russia to import Russian oil as the USA deadline to import Russian oil ends in early June, sources in Dhaka, Moscow and Washington said, a press release said.       

Though nearly seven weeks ago Bangladesh got the USA permission to import Russian energy within a certain period, the country is unlikely to get petroleum products by early this month, reliable sources said.

High price of oil, lack of traditional global banking system, poor commitment of timely shipment, sanction of the European Union (EU) on Russia exports and limitation of Eastern Refinery stand in the way of getting Russian oil to ease energy crisis, sources in Dhaka, Moscow and Washington said.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman in a meeting with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright at the Department of Energy in Washington DC recently requested the United States to grant Bangladesh a special waiver to import refined diesel and other petroleum products from Russian sources to ease energy pressures.

The USA gave Bangladesh a grace period of nearly two months to import Russian oil in April. Bangladesh held talks with stakeholders of Russian oil companies to import Russian oil during the last seven weeks. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman will visit Russian this month to discuss various issues including energy with Russian stakeholders, sources said      

The world is going through an energy crisis after USA-Israel imposed a war on Iran on February 28, 2026. India got special USA permission to import Russian oil. Against this backdrop, Bangladesh also sought special USA permission to import Russian oil until a certain period. 

Following high-level directions to explore new sources of new energy, Bangladesh diplomats in the USA and Russia are working round-the-clock

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Md Nazrul Islam held talks with a high-level stakeholder of a top Russian oil company and will hold talks with a number of stakeholders of Russian oil companies soon.

However, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will seek to import the specific variety of Russian oil that the Eastern Refinery of Bangladesh has the capacity to process in Bangladesh. Otherwise, Bangladesh will have to process the oil in the third country, sources said.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Md Nazrul Islam was posted in Qatar before and he has good connections with stakeholders of oil in the global market.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has triggered an abnormal surge in global energy prices, significantly increasing Bangladesh’s subsidy burden. In this context, he said that the government will need to spend approximately Tk 36,000 crore in additional subsidies to import oil and LNG sectors during the March–June period of the current fiscal year.

During the talks, the foreign minister highlighted Bangladesh’s ongoing energy challenges stemming from global supply chain disruptions, particularly ahead of the critical planting season, and stressed the need to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply for farmers and safeguard food security.

US Energy Secretary Wright acknowledged the energy challenges Bangladesh is facing and expressed his country’s commitment to support Bangladesh during these difficult times to help ensure its energy security.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Md Nazrul Islam, also accredited to Kazakhstan, called on President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the latter’s office and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Md Nazrul Islam also held a meeting with Energy Minister of the Central Asian country Erlan Akkenzhenov    and discussed the possibility of energy cooperation. He held a meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko this month and explored the potentials of energy cooperation with the CIS country.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh and the United States (US) have signed a strategic energy cooperation memorandum in Washington, marking a major step in bilateral relations as Dhaka seeks to strengthen long-term energy security through diversified and sustainable sourcing.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday at the US Department of Energy in Washington, D.C, according to a message received here recently. 

On behalf of Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman signed the agreement, while US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed on behalf of the United States.

According to the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, the agreement comes at a critical time when many countries, including Bangladesh, are facing mounting challenges in ensuring energy security amid ongoing instability in the Middle East.

The embassy said the MoU would support Bangladesh’s efforts to strengthen long-term energy security by diversifying its energy sourcing options based on affordability and supply chain sustainability, while opening new avenues for broader energy cooperation between the two countries.

Under the agreement, the two sides will cooperate in capacity building, exchange of knowledge and technical expertise, and joint studies on oil, gas, geothermal energy and bioenergy.

The MoU is also expected to facilitate Bangladesh’s import of US liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other energy products at competitive prices.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Khalilur described the agreement as another milestone in the growing partnership between Bangladesh and the United States.

He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and US President Donald Trump for their support in advancing the initiative.

US Energy Secretary Wright termed the MoU a “historic development” in Bangladesh-US relations.

Officials of the Bangladesh Embassy and senior representatives of the US Department of Energy were present at the signing ceremony.

The country is going through a catch-22 situation as the major oil producing companies are quoting higher prices of the commodity, sources in Dhaka, Moscow and Washington said. Sources said Dhaka should convince Brussels over import of Russian oil as the EU countries have put sanctions on Russia on grounds of Ukraine war. The reactions of the EU countries over import of Russian oil should also be considered by Bangladesh in the new geopolitical conditions, said diplomats and exporters.

Bangladesh-EU trade stands at  €22 billion trade in 2024 and out of that Bangladesh exports stand at 20 and EU stands  €2 billion. 

Sources said as Bangladesh has never imported Russian oil in the past, Bangladesh will have to ratify amendments regarding payment.

As the US puts sanctions on Russian export, Bangladesh will have special payment system with Russia  

Though Dhaka has trade relations with Moscow, the sanction of western countries on Russia is making trade difficult, sources in the commerce ministry said.                

In the meantime, the EU counties are also putting pressure on Bangladesh to reduce the wide trade gap with them.

The relations between the USA and the EU countries have suffered in recent times over a war imposed on Iran.

Previously, Bangladesh has requested the USA to consider the waiver until next three months considering the present situation. However, after completing every step, a minimum one month will be required to bring Russian oil into Bangladesh.