Govt backs fresh LNG import
The government on Friday approved the purchase of another cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Saudi Arabia under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement, as Bangladesh moves to stabilise gas supplies following weeks of disruption caused by an outage at one of its floating LNG terminals.
The approval was given at the eighth meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) for the 2026-27 fiscal year, held virtually and chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
The committee cleared a proposal to procure one LNG cargo from Aramco Trading Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, through the direct procurement method under the G2G framework.
According to officials, the cargo will be delivered on 11-12 August 2026 at a price of US$21.55 per MMBtu.
However, the committee once again did not take up a separate proposal for a long-term LNG supply agreement with Gunvor USA LLC.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division withdrew its proposal-also withdrawn at Thursday’s meeting-seeking approval for the direct purchase of LNG from Gunvor USA LLC under a G2G arrangement covering the 2026-2038 period before it could be placed before the committee.
Bangladesh has increasingly relied on imported LNG to offset declining domestic natural gas production and maintain fuel supplies for electricity generation, industries and other consumers.
Officials said the latest procurement would help ensure uninterrupted gas supply by securing the timely arrival of an LNG cargo later this month.
The approval comes as the country’s gas supply gradually recovers following the partial restoration of the Excelerate Energy-operated floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali, which had triggered a nationwide gas shortage affecting power generation, industrial production, CNG stations and household cooking for more than two weeks.
The disruption began on 21 July after a fire damaged the FSRU’s boiler-related electrical systems, forcing the suspension of LNG regasification operations at one of Bangladesh’s two floating LNG terminals.
The outage removed around 450 million cubic feet of gas per day from the national grid, significantly disrupting electricity generation and industrial operations across the country.
Following repair work by local and foreign engineers, the terminal has resumed partial operations and is currently supplying around 115 million cubic feet of gas per day. Output is expected to increase gradually as restoration work continues.
Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood said on Thursday that gas supply was expected to return to normal within the next two to three days.
Bangladesh’s daily gas demand currently stands at around 3,800-4,000 million cubic feet, while supply remains at approximately 2,600 million cubic feet, underscoring the country’s continued reliance on imported LNG to bridge the deficit.
The recent disruption has once again exposed Bangladesh’s growing dependence on LNG imports and highlighted the vulnerability of the national gas supply system to operational failures at a single floating LNG terminal.
