Gas supply resumes in Bangladesh as new LNG cargo arrives at Excelerate terminal
Photo Collected
Natural gas supplies in Bangladesh began to recover on Saturday as a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo arrived at the Excelerate Energy terminal in the Bay of Bengal. The resumption of operations follows a three-day supply suspension, though officials warn that the ongoing nationwide gas shortage will likely persist for several days.
Petrobangla, the state-owned energy company, confirmed that the Excelerate terminal resumed operations at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, injecting 100 million cubic feet of gas into the national pipeline. Officials expect supply volumes to increase further after 9:00 p.m. as the newly arrived cargo is processed.
The nation has faced severe gas shortages for approximately one month, exacerbated by technical issues and a lack of imported fuel. The Excelerate terminal, one of two floating storage regasification units (FSRUs) operated by Excelerate Energy and Summit Group in Moheshkhali, was forced to cease operations on Wednesday due to empty reserves. Prior to this, the terminal had been struggling to maintain supply since a fire incident occurred on July 21.
Industry data indicates that Bangladesh has a daily gas demand of 3.8 billion cubic feet, but supply has recently fluctuated around 2.3 billion cubic feet. Before the current crisis, LNG accounted for approximately 1.05 billion cubic feet of the daily supply, with the remainder sourced from domestic gas fields, which have seen production declines over the past nine years.
Energy sector officials attribute the persistent shortage to the failure of scheduled LNG shipments to arrive. Although the government had approved the procurement of four additional cargoes for August through direct purchase methods, those deliveries did not materialize. Consequently, despite the readiness of the regasification terminals, the lack of imported fuel hampered consistent output.
Petrobangla and Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), the agency responsible for LNG imports, reported that by Saturday afternoon, total gas supply reached 2.3 billion cubic feet. Projections suggest this may rise to 2.37 billion cubic feet by Saturday night if LNG intake reaches 750 million cubic feet.
Authorities have managed to secure two new LNG cargoes through an emergency tender process initiated in December. Following the arrival of the first cargo on Saturday, a second shipment is expected to arrive between August 26 and August 27, which officials hope will stabilize supply levels, though they caution that a full resolution to the national gas deficit remains pending.
0%
0%
0%
0%
