BD signs fifth long-term LNG-import agreement

Bangladesh on Wednesday inked three agreements with US multinational Excelerate Energy's Bangladesh outfit on import of increased volumes of liquefied natural gas and LNG regasification and transmission.

The deals with Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Ltd include sales and purchase agreement (SPA) on import of up to 1.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, expansion of Moheshkhali Floating LNG terminal and term-sheet agreement on building a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) near Payra seaport.

Excelerate Energy will supply 0.85 MTPA of LNG from January 2026 to December 2027 and 1.0 MTPA of LNG from January 2028 to December 2040, Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told the signing ceremony at a city hotel in the evening.

It means Petrobangla will buy a total of 12 LNG cargoes each year during 2026 and 2027 and 16 LNG cargoes from 2028 until 2040.

Prime Minister's Energy Adviser Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury was the chief guest at the event while State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter D Haas were special guests.

Under the deals Bangladesh will import LNG from Excelerate Energy for 15 years from 2026 onward.

This is the country's fifth long-term LNG-import contract and third since June 2023.

Bangladesh will purchase LNG from Excelerate Energy at around 13.35 per cent of the three-month average Brent crude oil prices plus US$ 0.30 cents per million British thermal unit (MMBTu), which stands out to be the highest-ever rate among the deals already inked, said sources.

Previously on June 1 in 2023, Bangladesh signed a long-term LNG sales and purchase agreement with QatarEnergy for 15 years starting in January 2026 to supply up to 1.8 million MTPA of LNG.

On June 19, Bangladesh inked an SPA with OQ Trading, formerly known as Oman Trading International, to import up to 1.5 MTPA of LNG for 10 years starting in 2026.

According to OQ Trading, the OQ will supply four  LNG cargoes or 250,000 mt in 2026, 16 LNG cargoes per year or 1.0 MTPA in 2027 and 2028 and 24 cargoes per year or 1.5 MTPA from 2029 to 2035,

Bangladesh started importing LNG in August 2018 after inking its first-ever SPA with Qatar's RasGas, later renamed Qatargas and finally QatarEnergy, on September 25 2017 to buy up to 2.5 MTPA of lean LNG over 15 years.

The country inked its second long-term LNG-import deal with OQ Trading on May 6, 2018 to import up to 1.5 MTPA of LNG from OQ for 10 years until 2029.

Petrobangla has the option of increasing LNG imports to 1.5 MTPA or lowering it to 900,000 tonnes per year.

Under the Expansion of MLNG deal, Excelerate Energy will increase LNG regasification capacity of its FSRU on Moheshkhali island on the Bay of Bengal by 20 per cent to 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).

Excelerate Energy's FSRU - Excellence - went for overhauling on November 1.

Under the term-sheet agreement to build an FSRU near Payra seaport the US firm is expected to bag a contract to build the new FSRU in southern Bangladesh.

It will also have to lay around a 20km regasified LNG (RLNG)-carrying pipeline from Kuakata to Khulna to feed gas-guzzling industries, power plants and other consumers in the country's southwestern region.

Sources said Excelerate Energy is the owner of both the operational FSRUs in Bangladesh having the total regasification capacity of around 1,000 mmcfd.

Apart from owning its own FSRU named MLNG terminal, Excelerate Energy provided FSRU to Summit Group's Summit LNG Terminal Company Ltd under a 15-year charter agreement.

Azizjst@yahoo.com