Govt clears purchase of three LNG cargoes for Oct

The government today approved procurement of three cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market in October.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the advisory council committee on government purchase at the Secretariat with Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division submitted proposals naming Petrobangla as the implementing agency, seeking approval to procure LNG from TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd, UK, which emerged as the lowest bidder in each case.

In the first cargo, scheduled to arrive between October 19-20, Petrobangla will import 3.36 million MMBtu (Million British Thermal Units) of LNG at a price of $11.44 per MMBtu, totaling Tk 480.67 crore.

Three companies submitted bids all of which were technically and financially responsive and TotalEnergies emerged as the lowest bidder.

For the second one, expected on October 6-7, four companies submitted bids and TotalEnergies again quoted the lowest price at $11.34 per MMBtu.

The 3.36 million MMBtu consignment will cost Tk 476.47 crore.

For the third one, scheduled to arrive on October 28-29, four companies submitted bid and TotalEnergies offered the lowest price of $11.54 per MMBtu.

The total cost for importing 3.36 million MMBtu of LNG under this deal will be Tk 484.81 crore.

In all three cases, the Proposal Evaluation Committee (PEC) recommended awarding the supply contracts to TotalEnergies, which has signed a Master Sale and Purchase Agreement (MSPA) with Petrobangla.

Officials said these spot purchases are aimed at meeting Bangladesh's growing energy demand ahead of winter, when gas consumption typically rises in industries, power plants, and households.