Gas supply from the Excelerate Energy-operated floating LNG terminal (FSRU) at Maheshkhali resumed early Thursday after remaining suspended for nearly two weeks following a fire at the facility.
Engineer Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Deputy General Manager (LNG) of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), confirmed to Times of Bangladesh that LNG regasification and gas supply resumed at around 3:00 am on Wednesday night.
He said the terminal initially started supplying around 100 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid. The supply will be increased gradually to 200 million cubic feet and then 300 million cubic feet before reaching the terminal’s full regasification capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day.
The Excelerate Energy-operated Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) has remained shut since July 21 after a fire broke out at the floating terminal’s storage and regasification unit. The incident forced the suspension of LNG regasification operations, leading to a sharp reduction in gas supply across the country.
During the shutdown, Bangladesh relied solely on the second floating LNG terminal operated by Summit Group, which continued supplying around 500 million cubic feet of regasified LNG per day to the national gas grid.
Under normal operating conditions, the country’s two floating LNG terminals together supply approximately 1,000 million cubic feet of regasified LNG daily, meeting a significant portion of Bangladesh’s natural gas demand.
With the resumption of operations at the Maheshkhali terminal, gas supply to households, industries, power plants and CNG filling stations is expected to improve gradually as the terminal ramps up to its full operating capacity.
