LNG supply disruption triggers long queues at CNG stations across Dhaka

A disruption in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply has triggered a severe CNG shortage across Dhaka, forcing motorists to wait for hours at filling stations and disrupting public transport services.

The crisis has significantly affected the earnings of CNG-powered vehicle operators while causing widespread inconvenience to commuters.

Visits to several CNG filling stations in the capital on Thursday (July 23) found long queues stretching day and night, with many drivers lining up from midnight in hopes of refuelling.

Many reported waiting from early morning until afternoon without receiving gas.

The shortage has hit CNG auto-rickshaw drivers and ride-sharing operators particularly hard, as prolonged waiting times have reduced the number of trips they can make, leading to a sharp decline in daily income.

Some drivers alleged that the shortage was being used to create conditions for a future gas price hike, claiming similar situations had occurred before fuel price adjustments in the past.

State-owned Titas Gas attributed the crisis to a technical fault at a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Moheshkhali, which has reduced gas supply to the national grid by around 450 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd).

The disruption has also affected electricity generation and industrial production.

At an emergency briefing on Wednesday, Monir Hossain Chowdhury, joint secretary (Operations) of the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said repair work on the LNG terminal was underway and expressed hope that gas supply would return to normal within the next two days.