LNG supply falls again as new cargo fails to arrive

Imported gas supply to the national grid has fallen again as no new LNG cargo arrived at one of the country’s floating terminals.

At 8pm on Monday, the two LNG terminals were supplying 666 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas to the national grid, down 137.8 mmcf, or 17.1%, from the 803.8 mmcf supplied on August 15-16.

Domestic gas production remained almost unchanged at around 1,615 mmcf, bringing total gas supply to about 2,281 mmcf on Monday night. Against a daily demand of around 3,800 mmcf, the supply met about 60% of demand, leaving a shortfall of roughly 1,520 mmcf.

A terminal official said a new LNG cargo had not arrived at one terminal and the next cargo had not yet been nominated. No confirmed arrival time was available.

The two floating terminals in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, have a combined supply capacity of around 1,100 mmcf a day.

The LNG shortage is also affecting power generation. According to Petrobangla data, power plants received 934.3 mmcf of gas against demand for 2,524.9 mmcf on August 15-16, meeting only 37% of their requirement.

The National Load Dispatch Centre reported direct gas shortages at 23 power plants or units on August 16. Thirteen of them generated no electricity during the day, with a combined generation capacity of about 3,150 MW.

The gas shortage has also increased reliance on costlier fuels. On Sunday, furnace oil-based power generation cost Tk 18.64 per unit, compared with Tk 3.58 per unit for gas-based generation.

Load-shedding continued throughout Sunday, ranging from 365 MW at its lowest to 1,615 MW at midnight.

SKS