Bangladesh FSRU Yet to Start Operations: Report
More than three months after first cargo of LNG arrived in Bangladesh on the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Excellence, the supply of regasified LNG (RLNG) into the national grid is yet to begin.
According to a Dhaka Tribune report published July 23 the delay is due to a leak in a subsea pipeline. Officials say that it will take another 20 days for the RLNG to start entering the grid. The FSRU has been facing technical glitches in offloading the gas since the moment it arrived. Excelerate Energy’s officials are repairing them in readiness for commissioning the facilities, the newspaper reported.
“We’ll require some more time. We hope we can be able to supply the LNG to the network within 15-20 days”, said M Quamruzzaman, managing director of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company (RPGCL). Petrobangla subsidiary RPGCL is responsible for importing and marketing the imported gas across the country through the Gas Transmission Company of Bangladesh (GTCL).
Bangladesh received its first 136,009 m3 LNG cargo April 24 from Qatar aboard Excellence at the port of Moheshkhali. The project was co-developed by Petrobangla, US specialist shipowner Excelerate Energy and IFC, a member of the World Bank group, with a project cost of $180mn.
Bangladesh also has an LNG supply deal with Oman which was signed in May. The supplies under this deal is expected to start soon.