Business Report :
The government is set to import two additional spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in July to enhance gas availability for industries and other commercial users, excluding power generation.
Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), a state-owned entity, has issued two separate tenders to procure the LNG cargoes for delivery between July 15-16 and 17-18, as confirmed by a senior RPGCL official on Saturday.
Each cargo will contain around 3.36 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of LNG.
The successful bidder will deliver the LNG to Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, with the flexibility to offload it at either of the two floating storage re-gasification units (FSRUs) stationed there.
If both tenders are awarded, Bangladesh’s total spot LNG imports for early July will reach five cargoes.
The official also hinted that Bangladesh may seek additional spot LNG cargoes later in July.
In June, Bangladesh secured three spot LNG cargoes for delivery.
RPGCL, a fully owned subsidiary of state-run Petrobangla, handles the country’s LNG trade activities.
The most recent tender was granted to POSCO International Corporation of South Korea for delivery on July 11-12, priced at $12.68 per MMBtu.
According to officials, the interim government has chosen to increase spot LNG imports, with plans to bring in six more cargoes to boost the availability of re-gasified natural gas for industries.
A senior Petrobangla official noted that since early June, gas supplies to industrial users have already improved due to the arrival of extra spot cargoes. The government aims to boost gas supply to industries by approximately 250 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), partly through increased spot LNG imports and partly by reallocating gas from power plants. Data from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) indicates that the average gas supply to industries in the first four months of 2025 (up to April) was 997 mmcfd, up from 823 mmcfd in the same period of 2024.
To support these additional LNG imports for industrial use, the government will need to provide a subsidy of about Tk 35 per cubic meter, according to the MPEMR.
