Moheshkhali LNG terminal may need another two weeks to return to full capacity: state minister

The state minister says engineers missed earlier repair deadlines due to technical issues, so he is avoiding a firm timeline this time

The damaged LNG terminal at Moheshkhali may take another two weeks to return to full operation, State Minister for Power Aninda Islam Amit has said.

On Monday, he expressed hope the gas shortage will begin easing from next week.

If repairs proceed as planned, 280-300 million cubic feet of gas could be supplied to the national grid in the first phase, with full capacity expected the following week.

One of Moheshkhali's two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) has remained shut since Jul 21 because of a technical fault, disrupting gas supplies nationwide.

Officials had earlier estimated repairs would take four to five days, but Amit declined to set a fresh deadline.

"They gave us timelines before, but technical problems prevented them from meeting those targets. That's why I'm not giving a specific date this time."

Bangladesh's daily gas demand is about 3.8 billion cubic feet, against a normal supply of around 2.7 billion cubic feet from domestic production and imported LNG. With one FSRU out of service, imported LNG supply has nearly halved.

Amit said engineers from Petrobangla, RPGCL and Excelerate Energy, along with foreign specialists, were working to restore the terminal.

The government has also arranged expedited customs clearance for urgently needed imported spare parts.

He apologised for the disruption affecting households, industries and CNG stations, saying the government was also exploring alternative gas supplies from Bhola and LNG imports via ISO tanks from Malaysia.