Bangladesh resumes LNG spot purchases as fuel demand rises

Officials said that Bangladesh had issued three tenders for the purchase of liquefied gas (LNG) on the spot market. The move was made as the fuel demand increased following the end of the anti-government demonstrations and the restart of the main Summit LNG terminal.

Officials said that the state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company is responsible for LNG imports and has requested three LNG cargoes each containing 138,000 cubic metres.

Two deliveries will be made in the first week of Octembre, and another one in the second.

The tenders were the first to be issued by the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. This government was formed after Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, was ousted following mass protests.

For the sake of transparency, the new administration announced that it would buy LNG via an open-tender process.

In July, Bangladesh suspended LNG spot sales due to the closure of Summit's floating-storage and regasification (FSRU) unit. The unit was shut down after a stray pontoon caused damage during a cyclone. The terminal was offline since May 27, 2015.

Fuel demand and activity had been reduced by the student protests, curfews, and other government measures taken to suppress them. But this has recovered.

Bangladesh imports LNG from Qatar, Oman and two long-term agreements for 2.5 million tonnes a year.

Petrobangla officials stated that last year Bangladesh imported more than 600 million dollars in LNG. This is according to Kpler data.

Yunus, in a televised speech last week said that the government was appealing for $5 billion to stabilize an economy that is struggling after the Ukraine war increased the price of fuel and imported food. Last year, Bangladesh requested a $4.7 billion bailout from IMF. (Reporting and editing by Miral Fahmy; reporting by Ruma Fahmy).

(source: Reuters)