Gas supply to Chattagram and elsewhere has started to improve after a floating LNG terminal in Moheshkhali resumed production after its 45-day scheduled maintenance programme. “Excelerate Energy’s FSRU started production after scheduled maintenance today. Now it has been supplying 230 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) and hopefully the supply will reach 500 mmcfd soon,” said a top official of the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL). The RPGCL, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrobangla, has been responsible to import LNG from abroad and receive re-gasification service from the existing two LNG terminals in Moheshkhali, one set up by Summit Group and another by US-based Excelerate Energy. Each LNG terminal has a capacity to supply 500 mmcfd gas to the national gas network from which a major portion is supplied to Chattagram . Read: Energy Division regrets inconvenience from gas crisis in Chattagram, elsewhere The Excelerate Energy’s FSRU went on a 45-day maintenance programme suspending supply of gas to the national gas grid while the Summit’s FSRU experienced a technical fault halting gas supply to the national gas network, leading to a severe gas crisis in Chattagram and elsewhere. Many areas in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur experienced extreme gas crises or low pressure problems. The RPGCL official, however, informed that Summit’s FSRU also resumed production to a very low scale and it is providing a supply of 130 mmcfd against its capacity of 500 mmcfd. He noted that the gas shortage problem is unlikely to be fully resolved as the Summit’s FSRU also has a schedule to start maintenance programme within 3-4 days. Read: Uninterrupted gas supply by 2026 : Nasrul Hamid outlines energy plans “We think the situation will improve to some extent, but not fully”, he told UNB. The Energy Division on Friday expressed regrets for the inconvenience caused to consumers over the gas crisis in Chattogram and elsewhere in the country due to the suspension of the LNG supply from FSRU in Moheshkhali following a technical fault there. In a press release, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said that due to a technical fault at a Moheshkhali LNG FSRU, gas supply to Chattogram and other areas of the country remained suspended since early morning on Friday. Read more: Acute gas crisis hits Chattogram city residents hard

Md Quamruzzaman, former Director of Petrobangla and Managing Director at Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), has joined Summit Group as advisor.  He was also Managing Director of two other Petrobangla companies.  Read:Summit Group donates Tk 3 crore to PM Relief Fund to fight coronavirus During his distinguished tenure of 40 years in Petrobangla, he also worked in Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) and Pashchimanchal Gas Co Ltd (PGCL). Quamruzzaman had led the team that implemented Bangladesh’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and land-based terminal.  An alumnus of Mechanical Engineering of Buet, he later completed another undergraduate degree from the University of Salford, UK on gas engineering and masters in technology management from University of Stirling, UK.  Read:Summit Group sets up a sculpture park on Gazipur 464 MW power plant’s premises On his appointment as the advisor of Summit Group, Md Quamruzzaman said, “Summit is a trailblazer in the power and energy sector in Bangladesh. More recently, Summit has prudently signed an agreement with USA’s Commonwealth LNG for one million tonnes per year (MTPA) of LNG off take. I am looking forward to working on clean energy solutions for the nation.”

Finally, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has moved to appoint a consultant for its proposed LPG terminal project at under-construction Matarbari Deep Sea Port.