Accident-hit LNG terminal in Maheshkhali operational: LNG supply to national grid crosses 1 billion cubic feet

There has been some relief from the long-standing acute gas crisis caused by a fire at the floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar. Gas supply from LNG to the national grid has crossed 1 billion cubic feet as the flow of imported fuel increases after the terminal’s repairs.

According to the latest data, 101.5 million cubic feet of gas has been added to the national grid from LNG (regasification). This, along with 1.609 million cubic feet from various domestic gas fields, brings the total supply to 2.624 million cubic feet.

LNG supply has increased by about 250 million cubic feet in a single day. The previous afternoon, LNG supply was 764 million cubic feet, which increased to 980 million cubic feet that night. On Tuesday, it crossed the 1 billion cubic feet mark.

The reason behind the shortage was a fire at the floating LNG terminal operated by ‘Accelerate Energy’ in Maheshkhali on July 21. When a main boiler of the terminal was damaged, a major shortage of about 450 to 500 million cubic feet of gas was created in the national grid every day. As a result, production in industries was disrupted, and there was a severe shortage of cooking stoves in power plants, CNG stations and residential homes.

Although the terminal was made ready to reopen on August 15 after the completion of the repair work, it was not possible to immediately increase supply due to the shortage of cargo ships in the international market.

Uncertainty in demand and supply Petrobangla officials say that increasing LNG supply will slightly increase gas pressure in industrial and residential areas. However, the current supply is still low compared to the total daily gas demand in the country.

According to energy experts, it may be difficult to sustain this positive supply trend for a long time unless regular cargo ship arrivals and discharges are ensured. Therefore, it is essential to keep the open market and long-term contract LNG cargo imports operational to fully resolve the crisis.