Bangladesh bought over 1pc of global LNG in first year

Bangladesh has made remarkable progress by receiving more than 1 percent of total global production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the first year after entering the LNG import marketplace.

“Bangladesh has astonished the world with its dramatic entry into the LNG market,” said Steven Kobos, president and managing director of Excelerate Energy, a US-based LNG company.

“To receive more than 1 percent of the total global LNG production in the first 12 months of operations is truly a remarkable achievement,” he said in a statement. 

He spoke at a workshop organised by Excelerate, in Dhaka on Wednesday. 

The event – “Bangla LNG Workshop 2019– Best Practices for LNG Market and Infrastructure – brought together more than 120 industry leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss the pertinent topics surrounding the global LNG industry and gas markets of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh joined the global LNG import marketplace through the delivery of the country’s first LNG import terminal—Moheshkhali Floating LNG—last year.  

In the first year, Bangladesh successfully received 60 cargoes, equivalent to 3.6 million tonnes of LNG, from eight countries, supplying more than 180 million metric British thermal units of gas into the Chattogram region.

LNG imports represent 15 percent uplift in gas supply for the country, allowing several power plants, fertiliser factories and industries to resume production that had previously been shut due to a lack of feedstock, according to the statement. 

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury expressed his satisfaction over the consistent supply of the LNG to Bangladesh market to meet the growing domestic demand of gas.

He said Excelerate has done a great job in a short period of time by keeping the LNG supply chain vibrant.

JoAnne Wagner, deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in Dhaka, said, “We think that by developing a free and open natural gas market throughout the Indo-Pacific, the United States is absolutely committed to bolstering a resilient, reliable energy supply that can support stability and shared prosperity right here in Bangladesh.”

Ahmed Mohammed Nasser Al-Dehaimi, Qatar ambassador to Bangladesh; and Hu Kang-ild, South Korean ambassador, also attended the workshop.