State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said Bangladesh is expecting to get 1-1.5 million metric ton of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Brunei starting early 2023. He made the statement following a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh and Brunei Darussalam in Bandar Seri Begawan on Thursday (November 24, 2022). “There might be a 10-15 year agreement between the two nations in this regard,” he said.  Read more: Despite suspension of LNG import, govt decides to increase listed suppliers’ numbers Nasrul Hamid led the Bangladesh delegation while Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei, Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Matsatejo bin Sokiaw, led his country’s delegation. The State Minister said both Dhaka and Bandar Seri Begawan had fruitful discussions to increase the area of cooperation. In the current context, he said, it was discussed to import an average of 210,000 MT of diesel from Brunei on deferred payment. New agreements will be signed on these matters. He mentioned that both nations agreed to broaden the areas of cooperation in the energy sector. Read more: Saudi Arabia assures assistance in commercial supply of LNG to Bangladesh Bangladesh had imported 325,975 MT of diesel during 2014-2016 from Brunei. But later it was not possible to further import diesel from the Brunei-based supply company PB Trading Sendirian Berhad due to a condition that it must have its own refinery.  It is mentionable that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Dhaka and Bandar Seri Begawan on October 16 during the Brunei’s Sultan’s Dhaka visit on the cooperation in supply of LNG and other petroleum products.  Brunei’s Prime Minister’s permanent secretary Yang Mulia Azhar bin Haji Yahya, director of the Energy Department Mohammad Nizam bin Haji Ismi, director of the Petroleum Authority Adrian Wong Kwai Ming, acting director of the energy sharing management department of Energy Division Haji Mohd Zaki bin Haji Hassanol As’shari were present in the meeting from Brunei side. Read more: No additional LNG supply from Qatar before 2025: Petrobangla Bangladesh delegation includes senior secretary of the Energy Division Md Mahbub Hossain, chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) ABM Azad, Petrobangla chairman Nazmul Ahsan, managing director of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited Zabed Chowdhury and Bangladesh Ambassador in Brunei Nahida Rahman.

A cargo vessel  carrying 2,950 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) of liquefied natural gas (LNG)arrived at Chattogram Port on Thursday, aiming to ease the ongoing gas crisis in the capital. The vessel anchored at the port at the 7:30 am and necessary formalities have already been completed in this regard, said Md Omar Faruque, secretary of Chattogram port authority. Earlier on Wednesday, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid assured people of resolving the gas crisis soon and informed arrival of the LNG-carrying cargo vessel in a status posted from his verified Facebook page.  “A sudden problem at the Bibiana gas field caused low pressure of gas in some parts of the country from the first day of Ramadan. An LNG-carrying cargo was arranged immediately to resolve the crisis. 2,950 MMFCD LNG filled cargo will arrive at Chittagong port tomorrow at 7 am” wrote Nasrulk Hamid in his post. The state minister thanked the tireless work of experienced engineers to overcome this crisis. “The Bibiana gas field is currently producing 1,100 million cubic feet of gas,” he said. After four days of disruption the Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field resumed full production from Thursday morning. Read: Gas crisis likely to end as Bibiyana resumes full production The country’s gas production drastically fell by about 450 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) on Sunday, the very first day of Ramadan, following a technical fault developed in the Bibiyana gas field. The Bibiyana gas field production capacity is 1200 MMCFD. The supply situation started improving from Monday afternoon as production resumed at one of the two affected process trains at the gas field. Officials said the gas field process system noticed that sand was coming out from two production wells which forced the authorities concerned to halt the production of the wells. The incident had a big impact on the overall gas production as many areas experienced disruptions following the fall in the pressure of gas supply as an outcome of the fault. The major impact was on the power generation as the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had to shut down a good number of power plants immediately which led to load shedding at different districts across the country.

The escalating price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has put the Energy and Mineral Resources Division into a “trouble” over its demand and supply management following the diesel and kerosene price hike. According to official sources, top policymakers are now weighing different options, including further upward adjustment in gas price, enhancing LNG import from long-term contracts and increasing local gas production. Also Read: Bangladesh faces biggest challenge in managing affordable fuel: Experts "But There’s no easier option for the government to find a suitable solution to manage the situation, particularly in 2022,” said a top official at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, wishing not to be named. Eminent energy expert Dr M Tamim, a professor at Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering Department of Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (Buet), said there is little option for the government to pursue without an upward readjustment in the gas price as there is an indication that the higher energy price will continue in the coming days until the end of 2022. “There should have been a thorough analysis of energy prices. Also, steps like increasing the LNG import from long-term contracts should have been taken much earlier. But the policymakers missed those opportunities when the LNG price was much lower on the international market,” he told UNB. Official sources said the government is planning to send a team, headed by senior secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, to Qarar and Oman to manage the increasing import of LNG from long-term contracts. The government has long-term contracts with the two nations to annually import 2.5 million metric tons of LNG from Qatar and 1.5 million MT from Oman. It also imports another 1.5 million MT from the international spot market to meet the growing demand for natural gas. Also Read: Private operators’ LPG: Price goes up again Currently, the sources said, the import of LNG from long-term contracts is preferable for the government as its cost is about $10 per million MMBtu, which is almost static, while the import from spot market cost $36.60 MMBtu which is dynamic or fluctuating. They said the government wants to increase the LNG import by 2.2 million MT annually from a long-term contract to raise the total import to 7.2 million MT from the current 5 million MT. “It’ll result in a daily increase of imported LNG to 1,000 MMCFD in place of the current 640.7 MMCFD,” said a source as the country’s re-gasification capacity is 1,000 MMCFD. Bangladesh’s current demand for natural gas is 4,000 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) while it could supply a maximum 3041.1 MMCFD. Of this, local production is 2400.4 MMCFD and imported gas (LNG) is 640.7 MMCFD. On the other hand, the sources said, the government is trying to increase the local production by 100 MMCFD from three gas fields—Koilashtila, Bianibazar and Haripur -- by conducting exploration and work-over wells, said Petrobangla director (planning) Ali Iqbal Md Nurullah. “We’re making our best efforts to enhance local gas production by at least 100 MMCFD,” he told UNB. Dr. M Tamim is, however, not that much hopeful of Petrobangla's immediate success in boosting local gas production. “This is a very time-consuming step which is unlikely to make any headway.” Meanwhile, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division has asked its officials to calculate the financial loss and its possible impact from the LNG import at a much higher price. Also Read: Hamid says fuel prices to fall in line with global market The government had to import LNG at $36 per million MMBtu last month which was below $10 per MMBtu early this year. Official sources said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division has also asked Perobangla and its subordinate gas distribution companies to prepare a proposal on readjustment of gas price. They said the proposal will be discussed with top policymakers and then, if any green signal is found from top level, it will be sent to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) for public hearing. About this move, Dr Tamim said, now the government has actually no more option but to readjust the gas price as it already raised the prices of diesel and kerosene. It was not a pragmatic decision to hike diesel and kerosene prices as it will have multiple effects on many sectors, including transport, power and agriculture, as they are dependent on such primary fuel. “It’s not a good step at this point of time when the economy has just started making a recovery,” he said. The price of natural gas was last increased on June 30, 2019 when the monthly price of gas for household users was raised Tk 975 from Tk 800 for double burner users and Tk 925 from 750 for single burner users. The price of gas for pre-paid household consumers was increased to Tk 12-60 per cubic meter while the price of CNG was fixed at Tk 43 per cubic metre. The gas price for power plants and fertilizer factories was fixed at Tk 4.45 per unit while the rate was fixed at Tk 23 per cubic meter in the commercial consumers, Tk 13.85 per cubic meter for captive power plants, Tk 10.70 per cubic meter in industries and tea gardens and Tk 17.04 per cubic metre in small and cottage industries.

Energy experts at a webinar on Saturday said managing primary fuel at an affordable cost has emerged as the biggest challenge for Bangladesh in the volatile global energy market. “The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is so volatile globally that it varies from $7 to $29 per MMBtu. Even, the price may go up to $80,” said Dr Izaj Hossain, an eminent energy expert. The webinar, organised by Energy and Power magazine, was also addressed by former power secretary and special envoy to Climate Vulnerable Forum presidency Abul Kalam Azad, former managing director of Petrobangla M Quamruzzaman, and Mohammadi Group’s managing director Navidul Haque. EP editor Mollah Amzad Hossain chaired the seminar. Khodaker Abdus Saleque made a presentation on the issue. The experts said the global prices of primary fuels like petroleum and LNG are going up due to the revival of economic activity across the world following the Covid pandemic shock. Read: Summit signs MoU with Commonwealth LNG to help supply fuel to Bangladesh

Abandoned seven years ago Sangu, the country’s first offshore gas field platform, can be used as a storage for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) before being supplied to the end users, energy experts suggest. According to the experts, the offshore platform has a strong potential to serve this purpose as many countries exploit such mechanism to reduce the cost. “The Sangu platform should be utilised for this purpose with its subsea pipeline before its damage”, Prof. Dr. Ijaz Hossain, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering told UNB on Saturday. Read Cabinet committee approves 4 proposals, including LNG import “As the facility remains unutilised after investment of millions of dollars, the government can invite and allow interested firm to install FSRU and supply re-gasified LNG to end users through the existing pipeline with the platform,” he opined.  Sangu was the country’s maiden offshore gas field when it was discovered in 1996 in the Bay of Bengal, 50km away from the land near Silimpur. Australian oil and gas firm Santos was in charge of operation when the field was permanently shut down and declared abandoned in October 1, 2013 as gas production dropped to 2.0-3.0 mmcfd. Read Bangladesh signs MoU with Malaysia on LNG supply Initially it produced around 50 mmcfd of gas, which  went up to 180 mmcfd. According to Petrobangla around 488 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas was produced from this gas field from 1998 to 2013. Sangu was operated by different foreign companies of which Santos and its predecessors Cairn and Shell invested over $ 1.0 billion in the gas field. But the Sangu platform remained abandoned over the past seven years posing a threat of permanent damage of the gas receiving and supply facility worth millions of dollars. Read Cabinet body okays 10 proposals including import of petroleum fuel, LNG State-run Petrobangla, the owner of the platform, is yet to take any decision over the use of Sangu platform either by state-run entities or by private entrepreneurs. Petrobangla sources said a number of international firms, however, are eyeing to utilize the platform mainly as a gateway to import LNG, re-gasify it and supply the re-gasified LNG through the Sangu facility. Sangu facilities include the platform in the Bay of Bengal, sub-sea pipeline and onshore gas process plant. The onshore gas process plant is located at Fouzdarhat in Chittagong. READ: LNG import: Foreign companies seek long-term deals, but experts want competitive bidding A 50-kilometre-long 20-inch diameter seabed pipeline was also built between the offshore platform and the onshore plant. Sangu platform is located at calm sea near the planned Bay Terminal of Chattagram port at Solimpur, which is free from sea turmoil. It has the advantage to be operational even during the peak monsoon season without any interruption, which the country’s two operational FSRUs (floating, storage, re-gasification unit) lack, said sources. Read Cabinet purchase body nods LNG import LNG re-gasification at the two FSRUS -- Excelerate Energy’s and Summit Group’s -- at Moheshkhali island in the Bay of Bengal were disrupted several times before due to rough sea, they added. Officials said, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) had initiated a move several years back to build or install a small-scale FSRU, having the capacity to re-gasify around 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of LNG by a global firm. Vitol Asia was in final talks with Petrobangla and its subsidiary, Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) to build the mini FSRU and sell re-gasified LNG to Petrobangla. READ: Summit signs MoU with Commonwealth LNG to help supply fuel to Bangladesh But the plan was shelved in 2018 as the government focused more on building bigger capacity FSRUSs and subsequently built two FSRUs having the capacity to re-gasify around 500 mmcfd of LNG each. To cope with the mounting natural gas demand the government is now considering to allow private entrepreneurs to build more FSRUs, re-gasify imported LNG and supply to national gas grid, said a senior energy ministry official.

International suppliers are offering long-term deals with Bangladesh to meet its soaring demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), while energy experts and consumer right groups want the government to go through a competitive bidding process to ensure transparency. Currently, the government is importing around five to six LNG cargoes, having the quantity of around 138,000 cubic metres every month.  But the forecast is that the import will go up gradually as the country’s focus is now being shifted to LNG from coal as primary fuel for power generation. Also read: Cabinet committee approves 4 proposals, including LNG import According to sources, Bangladesh now imports LNG from two companies—Qatar-based QatarGas and Oman-based Oman Trading International—on long term basis while short-term supply is coming from international spot market where 17 more companies are enlisted. Four more companies have been given green signal to be enlisted with the state-owned Petrbangla to supply LNG from the spot market. Official sources said the long-term import is based on unsolicited deal while the short-term imports are taking place through a bidding process.     Read LPG Growth in Bangladesh: Effective Alternative to Natural Gas

Excelerate Energy, a US-based LNG company, has touched a milestone by conducting its 2000th commercial ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its Moheshkhali Floating LNG (MLNG) terminal located off Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. A total of 144,191 cubic meters of LNG were transferred using the double-banked LNG transfer system and Excelerate’s Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) named Excellence and a conventional LNG carrier in Bay of Bengal this week, said a press release of the company. Excelerate Energy’s Chief Operating Officer Cal Bancroft expressed his satisfaction for achieving the milestone of 2000th STS transfer in the Bay of Bengal as Excelerate represented a 20 percent uplift in gas supply to Bangladesh. Also read: Experts suggest feasibility study on Matarbari LNG, LPG terminals “Having achieved this milestone safely is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and vessel crews worldwide,” he said in the statement. Since 2018, Excelerate has provided clean, reliable energy to Bangladesh through its two FSRUs located offshore in the Bay of Bengal while it has so far successfully transferred over 236,405,000 cubic meters of LNG using its STS protocol worldwide in last 14 years after conducting its first commercial STS transfer in 2007. “Operating in challenging locations like the Bay of Bengal is why customers can count on our teams to deliver much-needed energy,” Bancroft said. Also read: Cabinet body okays LNG import from int’l spot market Excelerate’s MLNG terminal is Bangladesh’s first LNG import facility while its two FSRUs have been allowing for a more resilient gas and power grid for the Chattogram region that were previously underserved.  The US-based energy company has so far imported over 157 cargoes of LNG and delivered an excess of 500 million MMBtu of natural gas into the Bangladeshi market. In March, Bangladesh reached its highest level of gas output with around 837 million cubic feet per day of natural gas while the government continues to increase its LNG imports to meet the rising domestic demand, said Excelerate Energy.

Japan will strengthen efforts to support Asian countries' shift from coal to liquefied natural gas for use in power generation to reduce carbon emissions, in the hope of lowering procurement costs for the energy source, the industry ministry said.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that the concerned ministry will be asked to provide details about Vitol Asia, a company selected for supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth Tk 623.63 crore to the country.