LNG Supply Restored After Technical Fault Fixed
Photo: Agamir Somoy
The supply of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the country has started returning to normal. Full supply is expected to resume by 10:00 pm, reducing customer suffering caused by the disruption.
Imported LNG is brought into the country by ship and docked at floating terminals in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar. One of the two floating LNG terminals is operated by local company Summit, while the other is run by US-based company Excelerate Energy. From there, the LNG is regasified and transported through pipelines via Chattogram to Dhaka.
A technical fault at Summit Group’s Maheshkhali LNG terminal caused a drop in supply from the morning. Although 100 million cubic feet of gas was supplied in the morning, the volume dropped to 76 million cubic feet by midday. This led to gas shortages and supply pressure in different parts of the country.
Engineer Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, General Manager (LNG) of Regasified Natural Gas Limited, said, “Due to a technical fault, supply was disrupted for a few hours. However, supply was not stopped. From 6:00 pm, LNG supply returned to the normal level of 100 million cubic feet. Since the pipeline is long, it will take a few hours for pressure to normalise in Dhaka.”
As domestic gas production falls short of demand, the government imports LNG under agreements with two companies from Qatar and Oman. In addition, LNG is purchased from the international spot market at high prices.