Staff Reporter :
Petrobangla faces uncertainty over how to proceed with a fresh bidding process for two cancelled LNG projects.
Officials from the state-owned company are unsure whether to follow the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008 for inviting new tenders or to consult the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) office for guidance.
Previously, Petrobangla had signed agreements for these projects with private sector companies: one with Bangladesh’s Summit Group and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based Excelerate Energy, under the former Awami League government.
The projects were awarded under the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010, which bypassed the need for open tenders.
However, after the interim government assumed office, the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Adviser directed Petrobangla to cancel both contracts.
The cancelled projects would have added two more floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) to Bangladesh’s LNG infrastructure, complementing the two existing terminals in Maheshkhali.
The first terminal, built by Excelerate Energy in 2018, has a daily capacity of 600 million cubic feet (MMCFD), while Summit Group’s 2019 terminal provides an additional 500 MMCFD. Combined, these terminals contribute around 1,100 MMCFD of imported LNG to the national grid.
Currently, Bangladesh’s daily gas production is approximately 3,100 MMCFD, including the imported LNG, against a national demand of around 4,000 MMCFD.
To address this shortfall, the previous administration initiated plans to set up two additional LNG terminals with similar capacities, granting long-term contracts to Excelerate Energy and Summit Group for billion-dollar regasification services.
Upon taking office, the interim government decided to cancel these agreements and aims to re-award the projects through a transparent, competitive bidding process to ensure fairer practices in line with procurement regulations.