Adverse Weather Triggers Renewed Natural Gas Supply Shortage Across Bangladesh
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Bangladesh is facing an intensified natural gas shortage as supply levels plummeted this week due to adverse weather conditions in the Bay of Bengal, disrupting the offloading of imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargoes.
State-owned Petrobangla officials confirmed that the supply dropped by over 250 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) on Monday. The disruption prevents LNG tankers from discharging their cargo at the floating terminals in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar. Officials indicated that operations could resume on Wednesday, provided sea conditions improve.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit stated that LNG vessels are currently stationed near the terminals but remain unable to dock due to safety risks posed by the inclement weather. The Energy Division is coordinating with relevant authorities to restore supply levels as quickly as possible.
The crisis follows a July 21 fire incident at one of the two floating storage and regasification units operated by U.S.-based Excelerate Energy, which significantly curtailed national gas output. While Excelerate restored partial operations last Thursday using one of its two boilers, the facility is currently contributing only 280 mmcfd. Petrobangla plans to eventually shut down the operational boiler to test and repair the fire-damaged unit, an operation expected to temporarily suspend supply from that terminal for at least 12 hours.
Meanwhile, the Summit Group terminal, which had been operating at a surplus capacity of 570 mmcfd to mitigate the shortage, has also seen its output decline due to the inability to offload fresh imports. Total national gas supply has now fallen below 2,200 mmcfd.
The country faces a daily demand for 3,800 mmcfd, with a typical supply of 2,700 mmcfd—of which 1,050 mmcfd is usually derived from LNG. The current shortfall has severely disrupted industrial production, electricity generation, and residential cooking, while fueling long queues at compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations across the country.
Petrobangla has requested a comprehensive action plan from Excelerate Energy regarding the repair and testing of the damaged infrastructure. Authorities indicated that supply is unlikely to increase significantly for the remainder of the week as the government deliberates on the technical timeline for full restoration.
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