Power division seeks Tk 1,500cr to import 4 LNG cargoes

Ministry of Power and Energy Division has sought Tk 1,500 crore from the Finance Division to import four LNG cargoes to ensure supplying an additional 250 MMCFD of natural gas to industries.

Following the announcement of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan that the government is planning to use more oil-fired power plants and increase LNG imports, officials within the Power Division have expressed uncertainty about whether they will receive sufficient gas to meet the increased demand as fund constraint is there.

"We have already requested the Finance Division to approve Tk 1,500 crore in favour of EMRD for the import of LNG in 12 installments," Power Division official said preferring anonymity.

The country's local gas production has dropped to 2,039 mmcfd from the yearly average of 2,448 mmcfd in 2016, according to data from January, 2025.

Petrobangla can currently supply around 2,600 mmcfd against a demand of 3,800 mmcfd.

However, country gets LNG from two floating storage regasification units (FSRU) having a total capacity to process 1,100 million cubic feet of gas a day (mmcfd). The incident reduced the supply to 600 mmcfd.

Quoting the data of BPDB Energy Adviser said the demand of electricity raised by 1,425 MW in one month due to rising summer heat and the load shedding also rises to 651 MW, if we not take immediate proactive measures, the power outages would be increase, however, the industries are already suffered due to gas shortages.

"To address the summer power situation, the government will import four additional LNG cargoes. With these measures in place, we expect to keep load shedding under control," Fouzul Kabir said.