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Thirty-four global firms have submitted expression of interests (EOIs) to supply spot LNG (liquefied natural gas) to Bangladesh as the interim government has moved afresh to shortlist the spot LNG suppliers.
Eleven of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers have been involved in selling LNG from the spot market since September 2020, and the remaining 23 firms are fresh ones, a senior official of state-run Petrobangla told the FE Monday.
Thirty-nine companies submitted EOIs during Bangladesh’s first-ever bid to shortlist spot LNG suppliers seven years back in 2017, and 23 of them later inked final deals with Petrobangla.
The firms from the US, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Turkey, Oman, Malaysia, Nigeria and their consortia, submitted bids to sell lean LNG to the country at the close of the bid submission deadline on December 1.
Of the companies that submitted bids, thirteen are from Singapore, five from Switzerland, three from the US, two from Turkey, two from the UAE, and one each from Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Oman, Malaysia, and Nigeria.
The companies that submitted EOIs are PetroChina International (Singapore) Pte Ltd Singapore, SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore Pte (Singapore), Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Pvt Ltd, Excelerate Energy LP US, Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd, OQ Trading Oman 7 Vitol Asia Pte Ltd Singapore 8 Gunvor Singpore Ptd Ltd Singapore 9 TotalEnergies Switzerland 10 Woodside Singapore, Sinochem International Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd, JERA Japan, Unipec Singapore Pte. Ltd. Singapore, BP Singapore Pte. Ltd. Singapore, Uniper Global Commodities Germany, MET International AG Switzerland, Aramco Trading Singapore Pte. Ltd, ADNOC Trading UAE, Trafigura Pte Ltd, Singapore, DXT Commodities SA Switzerland, SOCAR Trading SA Switzerland, Shell International Trading Middle East Ltd, FZE UAE, Mercuria Energy Trading S.A. Switzerland, Derin Shipping Turkey, B.B. Energy (Asia) Pte Ltd Singapore, BGN Int DMCC Turkey, Posco International Corporation South Korea, Global LNG & Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd Malaysia, Onando PLC Nigeria, Wiselun Petroleum Gas Ltd, Hong Kong, QatarEnergy Trading LLC’s (QET), Sonangol EP, US and Trafigura-Astro JV.
"We shall complete evaluation of the EOIs soon to shortlist potential LNG suppliers on their trading experience and their ability to deliver the right cargo specification to both onshore and offshore terminals on a spot basis,” said the Petrobangal official.
State-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) will ink a master sales and purchase agreement (MPSA) with the short-listed suppliers to purchase LNG from the spot market, said the official.
The official did not disclose the quantity of the LNG to be imported from the spot market through these firms.
Spot market is a market in which commodity is bought or sold for immediate delivery or delivery in the very near future.
The selected global firms would provide LNG to Bangladesh’s LNG receiving terminals from the spot market after getting orders from the state-run RPGCL time to time, based on demand, said the RPGCL official.
The RPGCL would initially make proposals to the selected firms specifying the quantity of spot LNG for supplying to the LNG terminals.
It would seek to purchase LNG from the selected firms under the MPSA, said the RPGCL official.
The imported spot LNG should have a gross heating value ranging 1,025-1,100 British thermal unit (Btu) per standard cubic feet (scf).
The imported spot LNG would need to be blended with locally produced natural gas, which is sulfur free and sweet gas, before it is delivered to end-users.
The imported LNG's sulfur content could be low as a result.
The selected firms would have to supply LNG on a delivered ex-ship basis and the vessel size should range between 125,000 cu m and 220,000 cubic metre (cu m).
The RPGCL will procure spot LNG based on market prices, terminal availability, increased re-gasification capacity and downstream demand.
Currently, Bangladesh has been purchasing LNG both from long term and spot suppliers to re0gasify in country’s two operational floating, storage and re-gasification units (FSRUs).