Bangladesh has received a price quote at around US$32 per million British thermal unit (MMBTU) as the best offer to import LNG (liquefied natural gas) from the spot market for late February delivery.
The price is around 7.50 per cent higher than the price Petrobangla purchased from French Total for early February delivery.
With the February delivery, the country resumed importing LNG from the spot market after a three-month hiatus.
Currently, state-run Petrobangla imports LNG from long-term suppliers at around US$11.5 per MMBTU.
It, however, is being able to utilise one floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), out of the two, due to rupture in the 'mooring line' of Summit Group's FSRU since November 2021.
Ship-to-ship transfer of the LNG of the FSRU remained suspended since then, halving the country's overall LNG regasification capacity.
LNG regasification now dropped to around 400 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), from usual supply of over 800 mmcfd, as the country's LNG re-gasification is now dependent on US's Excelerate Energy's FSRU only.
Country's overall natural gas output also dropped to around 2,800 mmcfd from the previous supply of around 3,200 mmcfd.
The short supply is currently affecting all types of consumers especially the gas-guzzling industries and power plants.
Around half a dozen LNG cargoes are scheduled to arrive this month (February) from two long-term suppliers - Qatargas and Oman Trading International, or OTI.
Before ceasing purchase of the gas from the spot market, RPGCL had imported two LNG cargoes at $35.89 per MMBTU and $36.95 per MMBTU from Vitol Asia and Gunvor respectively in October 2021.
In September 2021, RPGCL had purchased one LNG cargo at US$28 per MMBTU from Vitol Asia Pte Ltd.
Previously, RPGCL's purchase price of LNG from the spot market ranged between $4.0 per MMBTU and $15 per MMBTU.
RPGCL started importing LNG from the spot market in September 2020, two years after it initiated importing LNG from long-term suppliers in September 2018.
