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Published : 19 Jun 2024, 12:57 AM
The government has cancelled four spot cargo deliveries of liquified natural gas or LNG with one of Bangladesh’s two import terminals damaged during recent cyclone Remal.
The damage has left the terminal unable to receive shipments, Reuters reported citing two industry sources on Tuesday.
Later, Energy Secretary Nurul Alam confirmed to bdnews24.com that the government had no option but to cancel the purchase orders.
He said two of the four cargoes were priced below $10 per unit and the rest were more than $10.
As the current price on the spot market is around $13, the sellers did not object to the cancellation, he added.
The CNG refuelling stations across Bangladesh have been hit by a severe crisis after Cyclone Remal damaged the Floating Storage Regasification Unit used for supplying imported LNG.
Operator Summit LNG said a broken stray steel structure weighing "hundreds of tonnes" had hit the FSRU when Cyclone Remal lashed Bangladesh in May, causing significant damage.
The FSRU discharged the LNG it had carried before heading to Singapore for necessary repairs.
Summit hoped the FSRU, which acts as a floating LNG import terminal, could return to the country within three weeks after repairs.
Secretary Alam also said the terminal would return to Maheshkhali on Jul 14 after it reaches Singapore on Wednesday.
He said Bangladesh would not order new cargos from the spot market until then.
A cabinet committee recently approved the purchase of a new cargo, but that order may need to be deferred, Alam said.
“We’re buying five to six cargoes under long-term deals for now to increase supply,” he said.
Reuters reported that Summit LNG told state gas company Petrobangla that it had declared force majeure on LNG deliveries after its terminal was damaged, one of the sources added.
Due to Summit's terminal outage, Petrobangla cancelled four spot cargoes scheduled for delivery from late May to around mid-June, a senior Petrobangla official told Ruters.
Three of the spot cargoes were set to be delivered by Gunvor in late May and between June 7-11, and the fourth by QatarEnergy between June 19-21, the report added, citing the official.
Bangladesh has seen annual LNG imports increase and last year shipped in 5.2 million metric tonnes of the fuel, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
It has imported 2.6 million metric tons of LNG so far this year, with May shipment volumes reaching an all-time monthly record of 600,000 metric tonnes.
