Home
+
Published : 26 Jul 2026, 12:29 AM
Repairs to a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off Moheshkhali may take another four to five days to complete, prolonging gas shortages across Bangladesh.
The disruption has already reduced daily gas distribution by around 450 million cubic feet across the country's six gas distribution companies within four days of the terminal's shutdown.
The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), operated by Excelerate Energy, has been out of operation since Jul 21.
Engineers from Bangladesh are working alongside specialists from the United Kingdom, Romania and Singapore to restore the terminal.
Mohammad Nasir Uddin, deputy general manager (LNG) and head of installations at Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd, told bdnews24.com on Saturday that foreign experts had completed their inspection and repair work was underway.
"Based on the initial assessment, the work may take another four to five days to complete," he said.
He declined to disclose further details about the nature of the fault, the equipment damaged or the progress of the repairs.
In a statement on Saturday, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla, apologised to consumers for the disruption to gas supplies.
While expressing hope that the repairs would be completed quickly, the state-owned corporation did not specify when the terminal would resume supplying gas to the national grid.
Imported LNG is received and stored at floating storage and regasification units before being converted back into natural gas and fed into the national pipeline network.
Bangladesh has two such floating LNG terminals off Moheshkhali.
Under normal conditions, the two facilities together supply around 950 million to one billion cubic feet of gas to the national grid each day.
With one terminal out of operation, imported gas supplies have been cut by almost half, placing additional pressure on the country's energy network.
As Bangladesh has no alternative LNG receiving infrastructure, any disruption at one of the two FSRUs places significant strain on the national gas supply system.
Similar disruptions have occurred several times in the past when one of the floating terminals experienced operational problems.
Stoves Go Cold
The reduction in Titas Gas supplies has also hit households across Dhaka, leaving many families without cooking gas for most of the day.
Although some gas reaches homes late at night, residents say the pressure is too low for cooking.
Sonia Akter, who lives on North Road behind Green Road, said her household had received almost no gas during the daytime over the past two days.
"Some gas comes after 11pm or midnight, but the pressure is so low that we cannot cook," she said.
She has been relying on an induction cooker, but says it has pushed up electricity consumption. Running the appliance for extended periods also trips the electricity supply in her home.
She now prepares food the night before and reheats it in the morning so her children can have breakfast before school.
"I can't prepare tiffin for my children anymore. Giving them outside food every day is making them unwell," Sonia said, adding that although some gas returned on Saturday, the pressure was only enough to reheat food, not to cook.
Lipi Akter, a resident of Senpara in Mirpur, said her neighbourhood had been without gas for the past four to five days.
"The same problem continues in every household in the nearby Piarimun area," she said.
Sharifa Begum, who lives in Mirpur-12, has stopped using her gas stove altogether because of the erratic supply.
"As there is no certainty about when gas will come or go, I have to rely on an induction cooker for all three meals," she said.
While the induction cooker allows her to prepare meals, she worries about the electricity bill at the end of the month.
The gas shortage has also affected compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations and industrial factories.
With gas pressure remaining low, many CNG stations have been unable to take supply in line with demand.
Long queues of vehicles have been seen outside filling stations across the city over the past several days.
Read More: এলএনজি টার্মিনাল সচল হতে আরও চার-পাঁচ দিন
