Maiden shipment of LNG from Qatar arrives today

Bangladesh is set to receive the first consignment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) today (Tuesday) for meeting the country's growing energy demand. The liquid will then be gasified and pumped into the national grid at a rate of 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from next month.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral
Resources Nasrul Hamid had earlier said, "We have signed a long-term agreement with Qatar to import up to 2.8 million tonnes of LNG per annum to ensure energy security in the country."
He said the state run Energy Company RasGas of Qatar would supply 500 mmcfd to the national grid from April 25 this year and installation of Moheshkhali-Anwara pipeline having 30 inch diameter has already been completed.
The government will need around Tk 14,000-Tk 15,000 crore for importing 1000mmcfd of LNG in the current fiscal. The cost will be doubled when the government will start importing LNG through Indian Reliance and Petronet from 2021.
The government had earlier decided to take hard-term loans from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to meet the financial needs for LNG import. Another Tk 7,000 crore will come from the revolving fund under the Energy Security Fund.
According to a ministry official, the floating storage refuelling unit (FSRU) terminal is being developed offshore the Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal by Excelerate Energy on a build, own and operate basis. Excelerate Energy will build it in 18 months.
The Energy Division met several times in the last few months to make LNG import from abroad smooth. The cargo to Moheshkhali Island will be transported by Excelerate Energy 138,000m3. Excellence, the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that will take position as the country's first LNG import terminal on arrival on site. Excellence will be moored utilising a submerged turret loading device which allows the FSRU and any delivery LNG carrier tethered to it in a side-by-side arrangement to weathervane during cargo transfer operations.  
"Following several ups and downs we have a good time to say that finally we could able to do this project. However, it will take some time commissioning the gas into the national grid," Md. Quamruzzaman, managing director of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) and convener of the LNG project of the Energy Division told the Daily Observer on Monday.
According to him, the LNG carrier with 0.65 million tonnes of LNG will reach the shore around 2:00am on April 24.
The government to supply about 100mmcfd of gas in the first phase after the LNG import as the necessary work to supply into the national grid is yet to complete. Only Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd will distribute most of the imported LNG gas in Chattagram areas right now.
 "We will require at least 60 LNG consignments annually to supply 500mmcfd of imported gas daily," an official concerned said. He informed that the government would import 3.75 million metric tonnes of LNG a year.
"He said the government's maiden LNG import was tied up after Petrobangla and Qatar's RasGas signed a 15-year agreement and separate deals would be signed with some state run oil companies of Oman, Indonesia and Petronas of Malaysia for importing LNG.
He said a process is underway for signing contract with privately owned companies, including Astro Oil and Gunvor of Switzerland, for LNG import, while the government has selected 30 companies for importing LNG from spot market.
According to the contract, the RasGas will supply 2.8 million tonnes of LNG every year. The demand for gas will stand at 8,000 mmcfd in 2041. Currently, the Petrobangla supplies approximately 2,750 million cubic feet of natural gas a day from domestic gas fields against a demand for at least 3,500 million cubic feet of gas against the supply of 2745.8 mmcfd.
Bangladesh is developing a number of LNG import projects and the second to reach fruition will be Summit LNG. Due to commence operations in October 2018, Summit, like Excelerate, will make use of an FSRU based near Moheshkhali Island and be able to process up to 3.75 mta of LNG.
The second shipment of LNG supply is expected in late 2018 from another LNG terminal being built by the country's biggest power producer Summit, which would supply another 500 mmcfd from Moheshkhali, the official said. Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has sent a letter to the Energy Ministry, proposing a price hike.