The government is set to buy two more cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at prices above $24 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), continuing a sharp rise in the cost of spot LNG imports.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Monday recommended the purchase of the two cargoes, with one priced at $24.625 per MMBtu and the other at $24.25.
The latest prices are higher than the $23.93 per MMBtu the government agreed to pay for a cargo just last week.
The committee, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, approved the purchases at a meeting at the Secretariat.
Two cargoes in September
According to the proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the government will procure the two cargoes through international quotations under Rule 105(3)(a) of the Public Procurement Rules 2025.
Posco International Corporation will supply the 46th cargo, scheduled for delivery on September 13-14, at $24.625 per MMBtu.
The 47th cargo, scheduled for September 23-24, will be supplied by TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd of the UK at $24.25 per MMBtu.
The rising prices come as the government has increasingly relied on spot LNG purchases to meet domestic gas demand amid supply shortages.
The government had bought LNG at below $10.50 per MMBtu in December last year. The latest prices are therefore more than double the level seen at that time.
On August 19, the purchase committee approved one LNG cargo from Aramco Trading Singapore Private Ltd at $23.93 per MMBtu, at an estimated cost of Tk395.25 crore.
The latest approvals indicate that LNG import costs have continued to climb within a matter of weeks, putting additional pressure on the government’s energy import bill.