The government expects 10 LNG cargoes to arrive in Bangladesh this month as part of efforts to ease the ongoing gas supply crisis, with procurement arrangements for eight cargoes already completed.
Petrobangla Director AKM Mizanur Rahman told BSS that tenders were being processed for the remaining two cargoes.
“We have confirmed the arrival of eight cargoes so far, and the tender process for the remaining two is underway,” he said.
He said tender documents for the ninth cargo would be opened for scrutiny tomorrow, while the bidding process for the 10th cargo was also underway.
According to the official, most of the LNG cargoes were procured from the spot market to meet urgent demand, while the remaining volumes were secured under existing long- and short-term agreements.
Bangladesh imported six LNG cargoes in August, compared with nine in July, Mizanur Rahman said.
Meanwhile, the two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) at Maheshkhali are currently supplying around 711 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to the national grid.
The national grid is receiving a total of around 2,329 mmcfd of gas, of which 1,618 mmcfd is being supplied from domestic sources.
Official estimates put the country’s minimum daily gas demand at around 3,800 mmcfd, leaving a significant supply shortfall.
BNP Acting Secretary General and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi expressed optimism that normal gas supplies across the country would resume by the first or second week of September.
He attributed the ongoing energy supply difficulties partly to the global energy crisis caused by the US-Iran conflict and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Rizvi said the government was taking measures to address the crisis and had allocated Tk 400 billion in the national budget for the energy and power sector, including efforts to overcome the gas shortage.
Referring to technical problems at one of the two Maheshkhali FSRUs, he said the faults had already been repaired and the facility had resumed the regasification process.
“Normal gas supply will be ensured by the first or second week of September, and electricity will also be available. We are already seeing some positive indications in this regard,” he said.
