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An LNG carrier has arrived at the floating terminal operated by Summit Power Ltd in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, with gas supply from the vessel beginning Wednesday afternoon.
Terminal officials said Summit is expected to resume full-capacity gas supply by Wednesday night, which could ease the ongoing gas shortage and help reduce pressure on the power sector.
Bangladesh was receiving around 750 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas per day from the Summit and US-based Excelerate Energy terminals, against their combined capacity of about 1,000–1,100 mmcf. With Summit expected to return to full operation, overall LNG supply is set to increase significantly.
An official of the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), the state-owned agency responsible for LNG imports, said the Greek-flagged Maran Gas Amorgos carrying LNG arrived in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday morning. Gas unloading began in the afternoon.
Another LNG carrier arrived last Saturday, allowing Excelerate Energy’s terminal to resume operations. However, a delay in the arrival of the next scheduled cargo forced a reduction in supply from Summit. Although the terminal has a capacity to supply 500–550 mmcf of gas daily, its output had fallen to around 180 mmcf.
Petrobangla oversees LNG imports under the Energy Division, while RPGCL handles the imports. Bangladesh has been importing LNG since 2018 to make up for declining domestic gas production, which has been falling for nearly nine years.
Two floating LNG terminals operate in Maheshkhali—one run by US-based Excelerate Energy and the other by local company Summit.
Excelerate’s terminal was shut down following a fire incident on July 21 and became ready to resume full-scale LNG supply on August 15. However, because a new LNG cargo had not arrived, it initially supplied gas using its existing stock.
Since Excelerate’s shutdown, Summit had been supplying gas above its normal capacity. But its supply was also suspended temporarily after its LNG stocks ran out.
Bangladesh’s daily gas demand stands at around 3,800 mmcf, while the maximum supply has been about 2,700 mmcf. Of this, roughly 1,050 mmcf comes from LNG, with the remainder supplied by domestic gas fields.
For about a month, LNG supply has averaged only around half of the terminals’ combined capacity, worsening the country’s gas shortage and contributing to continuing power shortages.