LNG terminals ready, but no cargoes available until Aug 23

The country’s gas crisis is likely to worsen for at least another week as no LNG cargoes are scheduled to arrive until August 23, despite Excelerate Energy’s floating terminal now being fully ready to supply gas.

The government has urgently invited bids to purchase five LNG cargoes from the international spot market to address the shortage. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase is scheduled for Monday evening to approve the emergency purchases.

Petrobangla Acting Chairman Abdul Mannan told Jugantor that the government was aware of the impending crisis and was making every effort to address it.

Sources said two LNG cargoes had earlier been planned for August 17 and 24 from Singapore-based BP through the spot market. However, the Cabinet committee did not approve the proposal and instead directed authorities to prioritise six cargoes purchased through the direct procurement method (DPM).

The six cargoes, bought from Blake Cube, Mex Oil and Jinghu Shipping, were approved on August 6. The first cargo was scheduled to arrive on August 17, but it will not arrive as planned. Another cargo expected on August 23 is also unlikely to arrive, according to sources.

The latest disruption comes amid a gas crisis that has continued across the country since July 21. On Sunday evening, Petrobangla supplied around 2.286 billion cubic feet of gas, down from more than 2.4 billion cubic feet the previous day. Sources attributed the decline to falling gas reserves at Excelerate Energy’s terminal.

The six DPM cargoes were reportedly purchased at prices ranging from $13 to slightly above $21 per unit, while the current spot-market price is above $22. Each cargo is estimated to cost Tk 800�"900 crore.

Following the delay in the DPM cargoes, RPGCL invited bids on Sunday to procure five LNG cargoes from the spot market. The cargoes are scheduled for delivery on August 23, 26 and 29, and September 1 and 4. Bids were invited until 4pm Monday.

Meanwhile, the government has maintained its highest allocation of gas for the power sector. Of the 2.286 billion cubic feet supplied on Sunday, around 960 million cubic feet went to power plants, while industry received around 901 million cubic feet and the fertiliser sector 20 million cubic feet.

Load-shedding, however, eased somewhat amid intermittent rainfall across the country. At 5pm on Sunday, the national shortfall was around 365 megawatts, with demand at 14,315MW against a supply of 13,950MW.

SKS