Two global firms – Vitol Asia and AOT Trading AG of Switzerland – are keen to deliver the second LNG cargo to Bangladesh with fuel from international spot markets.
State-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd, or RPGCL, received bids from these two firms for supplying spot LNG, or liquefied natural gas, to Bangladesh in November, a senior energy ministry official told the FE.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division, or EMRD, under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources sent their proposals to the cabinet committee on public purchase for approval.
Vitol Asia Pte delivered the first ever LNG cargo carrying around 138,000 cubic metre of fuel from the spot market last month as the country started consuming spot LNG taking advantage of lower oil and natural gas prices globally.
Re-gasified spot LNG entered the national gas grid immediately after the unloading started.
With the arrival of the first cargo, Bangladesh could save around Tk 300 million in purchasing LNG from the spot market compared to the regular LNG market
Vitol Asia had offered the best bid at $3.8321 per million British thermal unit, or MMBTu, to bag the deal to supply its first LNG cargo to Bangladesh.
The RGCL, the state-run entity that oversees LNG imports, had invited 14 global LNG suppliers in early August to quote prices and relevant services to supply spot LNG from the international market.
Four suppliers had submitted bids, among which Vitol’s was the best.
Currently, the country’s LNG import price under the long-term deal with Qatar’s Qatargas and Oman’s Oman Trading International, or OTI, ranges around $5.50 to $6.0 per MMBtu, RPGCL official said.
Bangladesh has two operational FSRUs, or floating, storage, each of which has the capacity to re-gasify around 500 mmcfd equivalent of LNG.
Excelerate Energy commercially started supplying re-gasified LNG from its FSRU in August 2018, while Summit did it in April 2019.
State-run Petrobangla had been operating the FSRUs at about half the capacity as the pipeline was not ready to carry the re-gasified LNG.
azizjst@yahoo.com