The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), or LNG terminal, operated by Excelerate Energy at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, resumed gas supply to the national grid on Saturday after a three-day shutdown.

"The FSRU resumed operations at around 2:00 pm today and is currently supplying around 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to the national grid," Petrobangla Chairman Abdul Mannan said.

With gas now flowing from the country's two LNG terminals, total LNG-based supply has increased to around 686 mmcfd, while another nearly 300 mmcfd of gas may be added to the grid by the middle of tonight, he said.

Excelerate Energy is a US-based LNG company specializing in FSRU operations and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and Petrobangla is Bangladesh's state-owned oil, gas and mineral corporation responsible for the country's energy sector. Bangladesh began importing LNG in 2018, when Excelerate's Maheshkhali terminal became the country's first LNG import facility, and imported fuel has since become a key source of supply as output from domestic gas fields has declined. Petrobangla procures LNG under long-term contracts with suppliers such as Qatar and Oman as well as through spot cargo purchases.

Mannan said an LNG cargo had been scheduled to arrive on Sunday, August 23, but it arrived a day ahead of schedule, allowing the terminal to begin supplying gas to the national grid on Saturday. At around 2:00 pm that day, LNG-based gas supply stood at only 580 mmcfd. Following the arrival of the new LNG cargo, supply began to increase and has now reached around 686 mmcfd.

Of the total LNG supply, Summit, which operates the country's other LNG terminal — an FSRU also located offshore of Maheshkhali — is currently providing around 580 mmcfd of gas. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's overall gas supply has increased to around 2,300 mmcfd, meaning imported LNG now covers roughly 30 percent of the national total, a share that would grow further if the additional nearly 300 mmcfd of LNG-based supply comes online.

"We are working to bring more cargoes to keep gas supply at a reliable stage," the Chairman said.

According to Petrobangla, the Excelerate Energy LNG terminal at Maheshkhali was shut down following a fire on July 21. Although the terminal later resumed LNG supply, operation was suspended again from August 19, as no LNG cargo was available at the time. The latest restart is the facility's second in under a month, with the two stoppages stemming from different causes — the July fire and the cargo gap that began on August 19.

Source: The Financial Express