Photo: Collected
Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) has confirmed that there will be no shortfall in the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the country in the coming months of October and November.
In line with demand, the import of a total of 19 cargoes of LNG has been confirmed for the next two months. Of these, 10 cargoes will arrive in October and 9 cargoes in November.
In this regard, Petrobangla Chairman Md Abdul Mannan told BSS there is no problem with LNG-carrying cargoes in October and November. A total of 19 cargoes of LNG have been confirmed in line with demand, so there will be no problem in gas supply from LNG to the national grid either.
He said, ‘We are consistently trying every month to ensure the necessary LNG supply for the following three months. This way there will be no fear of any kind of shortfall in gas supply from LNG.’
Petrobangla oversees LNG import with the approval of the Energy Division. And the responsibility for import, cargo scheduling, contract negotiation and implementation, and terminal operation is carried out by Petrobangla’s company Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL).
Petrobangla and RPGCL sources said that of October’s 10 cargoes, 3 cargoes will come from the spot market, 2 cargoes under long-term contracts and 5 cargoes under short-term contracts.
Of November’s 9 cargoes, 6 cargoes will come under long-term contracts and 3 cargoes under short-term contracts. The cargoes have been purchased from various countries including the United States, Nigeria and Angola.
The sources further said LNG is being procured from various sources in line with demand and these cargoes will arrive in the country as per the fixed schedule. It will later be supplied to the national gas grid.
According to RPGCL data, each cargo contains about 3.2 million MMBtu (million British thermal units) of LNG. On that basis, the import of a total of about 60.8 million MMBtu of LNG has been confirmed in the 19 cargoes of October and November.
Imported LNG first arrives by sea at the country’s LNG terminals. There the LNG is converted back into gas, a process called regasification. The gas is then supplied to the national grid through pipelines.
Petrobangla Director (Finance) Mizanur Rahman said a total of 19 cargoes of LNG have been confirmed for October and November and this LNG has been purchased from the United States, Nigeria, Angola and Australia.
He said the confirmed cargoes include LNG under long-term and short-term contracts, while cargoes are also being bought from the spot market. As import has been confirmed in line with demand, there will be no major problem in supply over the next few months.
Petrobangla officials concerned said imported LNG is supplied to the national gas grid after regasification and this gas is later used in various sectors of the country.
According to RPGCL data, Qatar-based QatarEnergy and OQ Trading, the Omani government’s energy and commodities trading company, supply LNG to Bangladesh under long-term contracts.
Besides, OQ Trading is also supplying LNG to Bangladesh under a short-term contract. In addition, Bangladesh also imports LNG from the spot market as required.
