LNG supply disrupted again due to adverse weather

LNG supply to the floating terminal in Maheshkhali has been disrupted again due to adverse weather caused by a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. An LNG-carrying cargo that arrived on schedule could not connect to the terminal even after trying for 24 hours. As a result, LNG and national transmission line gas supply decreased again just 10 days after the situation normalised.

According to Petrobangla, a total of 2,587 million cubic feet of gas was supplied on Wednesday, including 982 million cubic feet from LNG and 1,605 million cubic feet from domestic wells. On Thursday, supply dropped to 2,100 million cubic feet.

Petrobangla said the process of transferring LNG from imported LNG cargo to the floating terminal is being disrupted due to adverse weather in the Maheshkhali area of Cox's Bazar. As a result, overall gas supply, including regasified LNG, has decreased compared to normal times. The organisation said the supply situation will normalise quickly once the weather improves.

An official involved in LNG operations said a cargo scheduled for the Summit LNG terminal arrived on Wednesday but could not be connected to the terminal even after three attempts due to excessive wind. As a result, gas supply from Summit's terminal remains suspended. On the other hand, gas is being supplied from the Excelerate terminal at a rate of 580 million cubic feet.

The official said wind speeds decreased somewhat on Thursday afternoon. Another attempt will be made to connect the cargo to the terminal at night.

Earlier, after about two months of disruption in LNG supply for various reasons, the situation began to normalise from September 11. Although gas was supplied at a rate of about 2,600 million cubic feet daily for 10 consecutive days, it decreased again due to adverse weather.

Due to the drop in gas supply, reports were received on Thursday that supply had decreased at CNG filling stations in Dhaka and various parts of the country. Gas pressure in households has also decreased.