68,648 tonnes of Nigerian LNG arrive in Bangladesh
Officials expect eight to nine more LNG carriers to arrive this month
An LNG carrier transporting 68,648 tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Nigeria has arrived in Bangladesh, as the government continues to diversify energy imports amid disruptions in Middle Eastern supply.
The Malta-flagged vessel 'Cool Voyager' reached the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali Island yesterday (5 April), according to officials at the Chattogram Port Authority.
The shipment comes as Bangladesh seeks alternative sources following supply disruptions from Qatar, its largest LNG supplier, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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According to global vessel tracking service MarineTraffic, the 280.57-metre-long and 43.42-metre-wide LNG tanker departed Bonny Port on 12 March and arrived off Maheshkhali on 5 April.
Engineer Mohammad Saifullah Kabir, deputy general manager of the LNG division at Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited, told The Business Standard that the vessel carried 68,648 tonnes of LNG and unloading began this morning (6 April).
He added that LNG imported from Nigeria is priced similarly to supplies from the Middle East and noted that Bangladesh had previously sourced LNG from the African country as an alternative supplier.
Responding to a query, Saifullah said this is the second LNG shipment to arrive in April. "Earlier, a vessel carrying 69,881 tonnes of LNG from the United States arrived on Saturday, and unloading from that shipment is ongoing," he said.
In March, Bangladesh imported nearly 600,000 tonnes of LNG through eight vessels from multiple countries, according to Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company officials.
Officials expect eight to nine more LNG carriers to arrive this month as the country moves to stabilise gas supply through diversified sourcing.
