DHAKA: Bangladesh has joined the ranks of LNG importing countries with the arrival of its first LNG cargo at Moheshkhali Port.
This makes Bangladesh the first new country to start importing LNG in 2018, and only the second since January 1, 2017, as Malta was the only new LNG importer last year. Bangladesh effectively becomes the 41st LNG importing country in the world.
A healthy pipeline of LNG projects, gas shortages and the rapid deployment of floating regasification vessels signal that Bangladesh will be a key LNG importer in coming years, despite commercial challenges like high gas prices.
The Qatar LNG cargo arrived on board the floating, storage and regasification unit, Excellence, at the Moheshkhali LNG terminal on Tuesday, and heralds a new era in Bangladesh’s energy sector, State Minister at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, told S&P Global Platts.
“We shall continue importing LNG from the global market to meet the country’s mounting energy demand and as part of our decision to diversify energy sources,” Hamid said, adding that necessary supply infrastructure like pipelines is ready.
State-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Co. Ltd., or RPGCL, a unit of national oil company Petrobangla, said commercial supplies of the gas will be fed into the national gas grid from mid-May to meet end-user demand.
Bangladesh’s maiden LNG cargo was delivered under a 15-year long-term contract signed in 2017 between Petrobangla and Qatar’s RasGas for 2.5 million mt/year of LNG, priced at 12.5% of the three-month average of Brent plus an additional 0.5%.
