The supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from two floating terminals in Maheshkhali of Cox’s Bazar has increased, providing some relief amid the country’s ongoing gas shortage.
At noon Saturday, the two terminals were supplying a combined 740 million cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas to the national grid. Officials said the supply would be increased gradually.
Engineer Muhammad Nasir Uddin, deputy general manager at the Chittagong office of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), said that LNG supply from the two floating terminals in Maheshkhali had resumed and was being increased in phases.
He said an LNG carrier carrying a shipment from the United States began unloading at the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) operated by Excelerate Energy around 9:30pm on Saturday.
The terminal had remained out of operation for three days before resuming limited gas supply from its existing stock around 2pm on Saturday. Initially, it supplied 100 mmcfd to the national grid. By noon yesterday, the supply had increased to 240 mmcfd.
At the same time, Summit LNG Terminal was supplying 500 mmcfd, bringing the combined supply from the two terminals to 740 mmcfd.
Excelerate Energy’s terminal was shut down following a fire incident on July 21. Although the terminal was fully prepared to resume LNG supply on August 15, the arrival of a new LNG cargo was delayed. As a result, the terminal initially resumed limited supply using its existing stock.
Following Excelerate Energy’s shutdown, Summit LNG Terminal had been supplying gas above its normal capacity to help meet national demand. However, Summit was also forced to suspend supply temporarily after running out of LNG.
