Country’s gas supply has returned close to previous levels after ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) resumed at an offshore terminal following several days of disruption caused by rough weather in the Bay of Bengal.
Officials said the transfer operation was successfully completed on Friday morning, allowing regasified LNG (RLNG) supplies to the national grid to recover.
The disruption had affected the transfer of LNG from a carrier to the Summit LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) off Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar, putting additional pressure on Bangladesh’s already constrained gas network.
LNG supplies to the national grid fell to about 593 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd) on Thursday, reducing total gas availability to around 2,212 mmcfd, according to officials.
By Friday, however, LNG supplies had risen to about 918 mmcfd, taking total gas supply to approximately 2,525 mmcfd.
The decline began on Monday as adverse weather conditions prevented the LNG carrier from safely completing the STS transfer operation.
A joint assessment by the parties involved in the operation decided at about 4.15pm on Thursday to postpone the mooring of the LNG carrier LNGC Pacific Success because of the prevailing weather conditions.
The resumption of LNG transfer is expected to ease pressure on the national gas network, which has been facing a persistent gap between demand and available supply.