Petrobangla counts payment even as capacity remains unused

Petrobangla is counting 'capacity payment' for non-completion of a re-gasified LNG evacuation pipeline as it has failed to fully utilise the country's maiden floating LNG terminal.

The state-run corporation has been utilising 65 per cent capacity of the Excelerate Energy's FSRU (floating, storage, re-gasification unit) by re-gasifying around 320 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas, a senior official said.

While 35 per cent capacity of the US company's vessel remains unused, the state-run oil, gas and mineral corporation would have to pay its full capacity, he added.

The daily payment the Petrobangla owes to Excelerate Energy is around US$ 232,000 (Tk 19.72 million), no matter it re-gasifies less or the entire capacity of the FSRU, according to the deal.

Excelerate's FSRU - Excellence - has the capacity to re-gasify around 500 mmcfd equivalent of LNG (liquefied natural gas) a day, the Petrobangla official said.

The delay in constructing a 30-kilometre 42-inch diameter Anwara-Fouzdarhat gas transmission pipeline is the main reason for Petrobangla's loss, he added.

Currently, re-gasified LNG is being supplied to Chattogram only through the newly-built 90-kilomtere (km) Moheshkhali-Anwara gas transmission pipeline.

The Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL), the state-run distribution company for the Chattogram region, is able to consume only around 320 mmcfd re-gasified LNG with the existing pipeline.

When contacted, a senior KGDCL official said the company is currently taking the maximum quantity of its re-gasified LNG requirement.

The demand for natural gas has not increased substantially as the port city has added no significant number of new industries due to natural gas crisis, he said.

Gas consumption by industries remains minimal as the region has a few heavy new industries with high natural gas consumption. Some 100 new industries can consume as much as 25 mmcfd of gas, he said.

Several big gas-fired power plants in the Chattogram region, including those of Rawzan and Shikalbaha, are not also in a good state to consume natural gas consistently, he added.

The KGDCL is responsible for supplying piped natural gas to consumers in Chattogram, Rangamati, Khagrachori, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar districts of Bangladesh.

If constructed, the Anwara-Fouzdarhat pipeline could supply the additional re-gasified LNG to consumers beyond the Chattogram region, he said.

When contacted, a senior official of state-run Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) said the pipeline construction would be completed soon.

State-owned Petrobangla inked 'terminal use agreement' and 'implementation agreement' with the US company on the LNG terminal project, 'Moheshkhali Floating LNG Terminal,' on July 18, 2016.

Excelerate Energy has started supplying re-gasified LNG from its FSRU commercially since August 18.

Since October 15, Petrobangla imported around 562,000 cubic metre of LNG through four regular consignments to re-gasify in the FSRU.

Re-gasified LNG from the terminal is being taken by Petrobangla on a take-and-pay basis.

[email protected]