Dhaka, April 14 -- Eastern Refinery Limited, Bangladesh's only state-owned oil refining facility in Chattogram, is on the verge of halting production due to a severe crude oil shortage linked to disruptions from the war in the Middle East.

On Monday, a refinery official said processing activity moved into a critical phase in the afternoon as fresh crude supplies failed to arrive.

A senior official at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, however, said: "It cannot be called fully shut. Operations are being maintained using dead stock."

No new shipments of crude oil have arrived in the country since the flare-up between Iran, the US, and Israel.

The last vessel carrying crude reached the country on Feb 18, and the refiner...