New LNG Supply Offers Partial Relief to Bangladesh Gas Crisis
Bangladesh has faced a severe gas crisis for over three weeks. Many homes and businesses have struggled. New supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are arriving. This brings hope for easing the shortage.
On Friday evening, a new LNG vessel from Vitol Asia reached the Bay of Bengal. It is moving to Summit’s terminal. Summit has begun limited gas supply. National pipeline supply will increase by Saturday morning. It should reach 500 million cubic feet daily.
The gas situation remains difficult. Excelerate Energy’s terminal shut down again on Friday afternoon due to a technical problem. It stayed offline for hours. This made the gas shortage worse.
A previous LNG vessel from Saudi Aramco was sent back. It could not safely transfer gas at sea. Rough weather stopped offloading. State Minister Aninda Islam Amit confirmed Aramco will send a replacement cargo.
Bangladesh uses two floating terminals for imported LNG. Excelerate Energy’s terminal processes 600 million cubic feet daily. Summit’s terminal processes 500 million cubic feet daily.
Excelerate’s terminal had a fire earlier. Its operating unit shut down suddenly on Friday. Repairs continue for the damaged terminal. A three-day terminal shutdown will be needed later.
Bangladesh needs 3.8 billion cubic feet of gas daily. Normally, 2.7 billion cubic feet is supplied, with over 1 billion from imported LNG. On Friday, total LNG supply fell sharply, reaching 300 million cubic feet. This cut national gas supply to 1.93 billion cubic feet. When Summit reaches full capacity, LNG supply will rise to 800 million cubic feet. This will bring daily national supply to 2.43 billion cubic feet. This offers relief, but shortages will continue.
If Excelerate’s terminal does not restart fast, supply problems will last longer. Experts see no quick fixes for this energy emergency. The situation depends on good weather. Recent rain reduced electricity demand. Higher temperatures could increase power cuts.
