- 600 million cubic feet LNG terminal approved
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (Petrobangla) is trying to increase the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet the demand for the increase in gas demand and the decrease in supply from local sources. Policymakers believe that despite Petrobangla's efforts, the demand for gas will not be met immediately. As a result, the additional demand has to be met by importing.
According to the data of Petrobangla, the demand for 7 thousand 758 million cubic feet of gas will be created in the country by the year 2040-41. However, the local production will decrease to only 1694 million cubic feet at that time. This huge gap between demand and supply will be met by imported LNG.
Energy Department sources said that considering the future import dependency, the government is building terminals for importing LNG and signing agreements with one LNG exporting country. Already, the infrastructure to import 1000 million cubic feet of LNG has been created. The government is going ahead with plans to sign agreements with various private companies to build infrastructure for importing at least another 3000 million cubic feet.
As per Petrobangla's plan, LNG imports have increased from FY 2021-2022. Imports will increase soon. The reality is that local production will decrease during this period.
When asked about the matter, Nasrul Hamid, State Minister to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said that steps should be taken now to ensure gas supply as per demand in the future. The government has taken all kinds of steps to increase the import and supply of LNG in the future. According to the government's plans, apart from the existing two LNG terminals, two more LNG terminals are under construction.
Experts said it is better to build import capacity by setting up LNG terminals. However, LNG import depends on financial capacity. That capacity has not yet been created in the economy of Bangladesh. Now there is a capacity of 1000 MMcfd of gas, but the government is not able to import and supply it for the financial crisis. They said that besides creating the necessary infrastructure, more work needs to be done to find gas from our sources.
According to Petrobangla sources, the import of LNG into the country started on August 19, 2018. 'Accelerate Energy' has set up a floating terminal to supply 500 MMcfd of gas per day. The next year on April 30, 2019, local company Summit LNG Terminal Company Limited set up another FSRU floating LNG terminal with a capacity of 500 MMcfd. That means the country now has two floating LNG terminals with a daily supply capacity of 1000 million cubic feet.
According to sources in the Energy Department, the government has already approved Summit Oil and Shipping Company to set up an LNG terminal with a capacity of 600 million cubic feet at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar. Another terminal with a capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day by Accelerate Energy at the Payra area of Patuakhali is awaiting approval. When these two terminals are constructed, a total LNG terminal of 2000 MMcfd capacity will be built in the country.
In addition, Accelerate Energy is interested in increasing the capacity of its existing terminals. They have already submitted a proposal to the Energy Department. At the same time, the Energy Department has taken up the project to construct 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Land Based LNG Terminal' in the Matarbari area of Cox's Bazar district. The implementation period of the project is estimated between 2024 and 2028. The government is also working to import RLNG from neighboring India by setting up a cross-border pipeline. Petrobangla has already signed MoUs with IOCL and H-Energy. Now the work is going on to finalize the gas supply agreement. As a result, the government has taken a grand plan to import LNG from abroad in overall consideration.
Professor Mohammad Tamim, Energy expert advised taking into account the country's financial capacity in terms of import dependence. He said a plan to only import gas from abroad rather than emphasizing the exploration of gas from local sources may pose a threat to energy security in the future. To get rid of this, the economy of Bangladesh must stand on a solid foundation.
According to sources in the Energy Department, the government is buying LNG from Qatar's Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited and Oman's OQ Trading under long-term contracts. Besides, Qatar Energy Trading signed an agreement in June last year to import 24 cargoes of LNG from 1.5 to 1.8 MTPA per year over 15 years. According to the agreement, the import of LNG will start from 2026. Another deal has been signed to import 0.25 to 1.5 MTPA of LNG over 10 years. This LNG supply will start from 2026. Bangladesh is trying very best to reduce the gap between the supply and demands as it is a growing industrial country and its electricity demands and gas demands is high.
ZH
