Bangladesh’s gas supply could take another 10 to 15 days to return to normal after a fire at a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal disrupted fuel imports and deepened the country’s energy crisis, Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku has said.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) in Dhaka on Monday, Tuku said repair work on the damaged Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) was under way, but the outage had prevented the unloading of two LNG cargoes.
The disruption has significantly reduced gas supplies across the country, leading to low pressure in household cooking gas networks and fuel shortages for power plants.
“Gas supply is expected to normalise within the next 10 to 15 days,” the minister said.
The fire broke out on 21 July at the floating LNG terminal operated by US-based Excelerate Energy after ship to ship LNG transfer.
According to the ministry, Bangladesh’s daily gas demand stands at around 4000mmcfd, while the country was previously supplying about 2600mmcfd per day. Since one of its two FSRUs went offline, daily supply has fallen further to about 2150mmcfd, triggering severe shortages across the country.
Domestic gas production has also dropped sharply over the years, from around 2800mmcfd to approximately 1650mmcfd, as reserves become depleted.
To bridge the widening supply gap, Bangladesh began importing LNG in 2018 through two floating import terminals capable of supplying up to 1100mmcfd of regasified LNG per day. With one terminal out of service, the country has lost around 550 million cubic feet of daily supply.
Tuku said Bangladesh had spent around $3.65 billion on energy imports over the past six months, with rising global fuel prices placing significant pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Energy experts warn that the current disruption highlights Bangladesh’s growing vulnerability as domestic gas reserves decline and LNG imports become increasingly important. However, expanding import capacity will require new LNG terminals and pipeline infrastructure, projects that could take several years to complete.