Liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth Tk 5.79 billion is being imported by Bangladesh from the United States.
To meet the rising demand, the cabinet committee on government purchases (CCGP) on Thursday approved a plan for buying one cargo of LNG (3.36 million MMBtu). Petrobangla’s plan was approved by the CCGP, which was presided over by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
Following the discussion on Thursday, Sayeed Mahbub Khan, additional secretary of cabinet division, revealed the information. According to him, M/S Excelerate Energy LP in the United States would be the supplier of the LNG.
Prior to this, the government gave the go-ahead to purchase one cargo of LNG from Total Engineering Gas and Power Limited in Switzerland for Tk 6.18 billion this month and another cargo from JERA Company in Japan for Tk 6.94 billion the month before.
LNG was last purchased from the open market by Petrobangla in May of last year. At that time, the price per MMBtu was $26.04, but it has since dropped by $10.
Due to the gas problem, the government began exporting LNG on April 25, 2018. In 2019, the government also adopted a strategy to purchase LNG on the open market and signed agreements with four companies in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Dubai.
Russia plans to jointly build an LNG terminal and export LNG to Bangladesh. During the fourth meeting of the Russia-Bangladesh Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation, which took place from March 13–15, Russia expressed enthusiasm. However, the plan got nowhere.
