LNG supply rises to 828 mmcfd, taking nat'l gas supply to 2,438 mmcfd
The highest level since the Excelerate Energy FSRU incident on 21 July.
Highlights:
- LNG supply rises to 828 mmcfd
- Total gas supply reaches 2,438 mmcfd
- Highest level since 21 July FSRU incident
- Power sector receives highest allocation of 931 mmcfd
- Excelerate supplies 300+ mmcfd, Summit around 510 mmcfd
- Domestic gas supply stands at 1,610 mmcfd
- Excelerate FSRU yet to return to full capacity
Bangladesh's gas supply situation improved further today (15 August) as LNG supply to the national grid rose to 828 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), taking total gas supply to 2,438 mmcfd, the highest level since the Excelerate Energy FSRU incident on 21 July.
According to Petrobangla data, LNG supply reached 828 mmcfd at 6pm today, with Excelerate Energy's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) supplying more than 300 mmcfd and Summit's FSRU around 510 mmcfd.
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Domestic gas production and supply stood at 1,610 mmcfd, bringing the total national gas supply to 2,438 mmcfd.
The improvement follows the partial resumption of Excelerate's FSRU at around 1:45am yesterday, while Summit's FSRU continued supplying gas at around its full capacity.
Excelerate, in an email to RPGCL, a Petrobangla subsidiary, said today that a planned 72-hour shutdown would no longer be required after the company resolved issues following a terminal trip on Friday.
RPGCL sources, quoting the email, said both boilers at the terminal were under observation and testing and that the company was cautiously optimistic they would operate stably over the following 10 to 12 hours.
The latest supply level marks a significant recovery from the sharp decline in gas availability following the disruption at Excelerate's FSRU off Maheshkhali, which substantially reduced LNG supplies to the national grid and intensified shortages across major consumer sectors.
According to Petrobangla's daily gas and condensate production and distribution report, national gas supply stood at only 1,931.2 mmcfd on 13-14 August against official demand of 3,854 mmcfd.
Supply was 2,039.2 mmcfd on 12-13 August, 2,109.6 mmcfd on 11-12 August and 2,199.1 mmcfd on 10-11 August.
Power sector gets priority
With gas availability improving, Petrobangla was supplying 931 mmcfd of gas to power plants at 6pm today to support electricity generation and reduce load shedding. The state-run gas company has a plan to raise the allocation to as much as 960 mmcfd, depending on availability.
Gas allocation to the power sector has fluctuated in recent days, remaining around 860 mmcfd at different points.
Of the total 2,438 mmcfd supply, the fertiliser sector was receiving 153 mmcfd, while other sectors were receiving 1,354 mmcfd.
An Energy Division official said the government was prioritising the power sector amid persistent complaints of severe load shedding, particularly outside Dhaka.
"Power generation is being prioritised as much as possible with the available gas," the official said.
Power Grid data showed that at 3pm yesterday, electricity supply stood at 14,231MW against demand of 15,847MW. Gas-fired power plants generated 5,422MW at the time, while coal-fired plants produced nearly 5,000MW for most of the day.
Gas-fired power generation hovered between 4,200MW and 5,000MW for most of the day, according to power sector data.
The higher gas allocation is expected to support electricity generation, although overall power generation remains constrained by limited gas availability.
Bangladesh's two operational FSRUs have a combined regasification capacity of around 1,100 mmcfd. Summit's FSRU has a capacity of up to 500 mmcfd, while Excelerate Energy's terminal can handle around 600 mmcfd.
Excelerate's current supply of more than 300 mmcfd remains below its full capacity, indicating that the terminal has not yet returned to normal operations. Summit, meanwhile, is supplying around or slightly above its stated capacity.
Gas supplies to fertiliser factories, industries and households remain constrained as the power sector receives priority amid the electricity shortage.
Petrobangla said sectors other than power that depend on gas would continue to face low gas pressure until Excelerate's FSRU returns to full-capacity operation.
