A fire at one of Bangladesh’s two floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals has exposed the country’s growing dependence on imported fuel, triggering a nationwide gas crisis that has left households unable to cook, factories struggling to maintain production, power generation reduced and thousands of vehicles stranded in long queues for fuel.
The disruption began after a fire damaged the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) operated by US-based Excelerate Energy off Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar, forcing the terminal to suspend gas supply.
The outage has cut around 450 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) from the national grid, widening an already significant gap between demand and supply.
Bangladesh currently requires about 3,800 MMCFD of natural gas daily but can supply only 2,700 to 2,800 MMCFD, even under normal conditions.
With nearly 35% to 40% of the country’s gas now coming from imported LNG, the failure of a single import terminal has rippled through almost every sector of the economy.
The most immediate impact has been felt in households, particularly across Dhaka, where residents in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Badda, Sukrabad, Kalabagan, Kafrul and several other neighbourhoods reported little or no gas supply for weeks.
Many families have abandoned piped gas altogether during peak hours, relying instead on electric stoves, LPG cylinders or traditional clay stoves, pushing up monthly household expenses.
Jhumur Begum of Mirpur said her family had not been able to cook normally for almost a month.
“There were days when my family survived on bread and bananas because we could not cook,” she said, adding that the family eventually bought an electric stove while continuing to pay the monthly gas bill.
For parents with young children, the disruption has become particularly difficult.
Akhi Akter, a Mohammadpur resident, said preparing food for her infant has become a daily struggle because gas pressure remains too weak even when supply briefly returns.
The shortage has also paralysed transport services.
Long queues have formed at CNG filling stations across the capital as low pressure has slowed refuelling operations.
Drivers say what once took five minutes now often requires waiting three to four hours, costing them valuable working time and reducing daily earnings.
Many operators say they can no longer fully refill vehicle cylinders because of inadequate pressure, while protests have already erupted in some districts over the prolonged shortages.
The crisis is extending beyond households and transport.
Industrial operators report reduced production as factories struggle with inadequate gas pressure, while officials estimate gas-based electricity generation has already fallen by around 1,500 megawatts, raising concerns about wider disruptions if the shortage continues.
Authorities initially expected repairs to restore supply within a few days.
However, several days after technical teams from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates arrived at the damaged terminal, Petrobangla says no definite timeline can yet be given for resuming full operations.
The state-owned company has apologised to consumers and warned that low gas pressure will continue across the Titas distribution network until the terminal is restored.
Energy experts say the crisis has highlighted a deeper structural weakness in Bangladesh’s energy security.
Domestic gas production has been declining for years while dependence on imported LNG continues to rise, leaving the country increasingly vulnerable to operational failures at a small number of import facilities.
Experts estimate Bangladesh needs additional LNG storage, more regasification capacity and faster domestic exploration to reduce such risks.
The government says it has launched short-, medium- and long-term measures, including drilling 100 new gas wells, exploring new onshore and offshore reserves and establishing another floating LNG terminal.
Even so, officials caution that the country is likely to continue facing a structural gas deficit of 200 to 250 MMCFD even after the damaged terminal resumes operations, meaning the current crisis may ease but the underlying shortage will remain.
