Padma Oil Company Limited (Chittagong) (Bangladesh)

Padma Oil Company Limited (POCL) is the oldest and largest oil company in Bangladesh. Its history dates back to the colonial period of British-India, with its ancestral enterprise, "Rangoon Oil Company," establishing petroleum business in the region in the mid-19th century. Prior to the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, two oil marketing companies, Burmah Oil Company (BOC) and Burmah Shell Oil Storage and Distribution Company (BSOC), operated in the area that now comprises Bangladesh. In 1965, a new company called "Burmah Eastern Limited" was formed with 49% share of BOC, and the rest of the share was issued to the public and private individuals of Pakistan. In 1977, Burmah Eastern Limited became a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, and in 1985, BOC transferred its entire property in Bangladesh to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, which was then renamed as "Padma Oil Company Limited" in 1988. Padma Oil Company Limited is a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and is registered as a public limited company under the Company Act 1913. Its head office is located in Chittagong, officially known as Chattogram. It is one of three state-owned oil distribution companies in Bangladesh, along with Jamuna Oil Company and Meghna Petroleum Limited.