Bangladesh has increased gas supplies to the national grid to 2,443 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) as authorities seek to ease the ongoing energy crunch and support uninterrupted industrial production and power generation.
Petrobangla Chairman Abdul Mannan told the Just Energy News the Petrobangla was working to increase supplies to help stabilise the country’s gas-dependent industries and electricity sector.
“We are trying to increase additional supply to the national grid in coming days to ensure uninterrupted industrial production as well as electricity generation and normalise the supply chain,” Mannan said on Saturday.
Of the 2,443 mmcfd supplied to the grid, about 1,615 mmcfd is coming from domestic gas fields, while 828 mmcfd is being supplied through regasified imported LNG, according to Petrobangla.
Chevron is currently supplying the largest share of domestic gas at 870 mmcfd, followed by Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Ltd (BGFCL) at 477 mmcfd, Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd at 139 mmcfd, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) at 96 mmcfd and Tullow at 29 mmcfd.
The increase follows the resumption of operations at Bangladesh’s two floating LNG terminals, operated by Excelerate Energy and Summit Group, after recent technical and weather-related disruptions.
Imported LNG supplies to the national grid rose to about 828 mmcfd on Saturday, with Summit believed to be supplying around 450 mmcfd and the remainder coming from Excelerate Energy’s terminal at Moheshkhali.
Excelerate also informed state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) by email at 12:40pm that both boilers at its facility were under observation and testing. The company said it was cautiously optimistic that the boilers would operate stably over the following 10 to 12 hours.
If the equipment remains stable during that period, Excelerate said it may no longer need to proceed with an additional two-day shutdown that had previously been anticipated.
Mannan said Excelerate Energy’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) would need to undergo a shutdown as part of efforts to restore the facility to full-scale operation.
The latest increase in LNG imports is expected to provide some relief to Bangladesh’s gas-starved industries and power plants, although authorities remain focused on maintaining stable supplies as demand continues to rise.