Govt to buy 2 more spot LNG cargoes in July to feed more gas to industries

The government is eyeing the import of two more spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in July to supply more gas to industries and other commercial consumers, excluding power plants.

State-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) has floated a couple of tenders to purchase two spot LNG cargoes for the July 15–16 and 17–18 delivery windows, a senior RPGCL official told The Financial Express on Saturday.

The volume of each of the spot LNG cargoes is around 3.36 million British thermal units (MMBtu).

The bid winner will deliver the LNG cargo at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, with options to discharge the cargo at either of the country’s two floating storage re-gasification units located on Moheshkhali Island.

If this tender is successful, the country’s total purchase of spot LNG cargoes in early July will be five in total.

The country might seek to buy more spot LNG cargoes in late July, said the official.

Bangladesh has purchased three spot LNG cargoes for June deliveries.

RPGCL is a wholly owned subsidiary of state-run Petrobangla and oversees LNG trades in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh previously awarded its latest spot LNG cargo tender to POSCO International Corporation of South Korea for the July 11–12 delivery window at \$12.68 per MMBtu.

Officials said the interim government has been importing more spot LNG cargoes, as it has decided to import six additional LNG cargoes to supply an augmented volume of re-gasified natural gas to industries.

Gas supply to industries has already increased from early June with the import of additional spot LNG cargoes, a senior Petrobangla official said.

The government aims to increase around 250 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to industries by ramping up spot LNG imports and diverting gas from power plants to industries.

According to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR), average gas supply to industries during the first four months of 2025 until April was 997 mmcfd, compared to 823 mmcfd during the same period of the previous year.

The government will have to provide a subsidy worth around Tk 35 per cubic meter for importing the additional LNG cargoes for industries, the MPEMR said.

The import cost of the LNG would be Tk 65 per cubic meter, while its selling price would be Tk 30 for new industries and Tk 31.50 for captive power plants.

State-run Petrobangla has planned to reduce natural gas allocations for gas-fired power plants to 1,050 mmcfd from the existing 1,200 mmcfd.

Bangladesh currently imports LNG from Qatar Energy and OQ Trading International under long-term deals and also purchases LNG from the spot market to re-gasify it in its two operational floating, storage and re-gasification units (FSRUs), which have a total capacity of 1.10 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd).

The country has been reeling from an acute energy crisis as its natural gas output is depleting.

Bangladesh has been rationing gas supply to industries, power plants, and other gas-guzzling sectors to cope with the mounting demand.

Azizjst@yahoo.com