FSRU to shut again, power shortage feared

The floating LNG terminal (FSRU), operated by Excelerate Energy, will have to be temporarily shut down again to restore it to full capacity, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit said on Tuesday.

“We are getting energy from this FSRU partially. If we want to make it fully functional, we need to shut it down fully, and once again we need to face the energy shortage,” he said.

He was speaking at a seminar titled “Energy Sector Crisis: Prospects and Ways Forward”, organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) at Dhaka Club.

Amit said discussions were under way with Excelerate Energy to determine when the terminal could be shut down with the least possible impact on industries, power generation and other consumers.

He said the country’s gas supply had been disrupted because of problems at the FSRU.

“With the assistance of local and foreign experts, operations at the terminal have been partially restored,” the state minister said.

He said the section currently in operation would also have to be temporarily shut down to bring the second section back into service.

The government was now trying to determine a time when shutting down the FSRU would cause the least inconvenience to people, he said.

“The government’s goal is to restore the terminal to full capacity,” Amit said.