Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh has floated a tender for its first spot liquefied natural gas cargo of 2026, aiming to tackle increasing gas demand amid tightening domestic supply.
The state-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd issued the international tender for delivery on January 3–4, marking an early move to secure next year’s energy needs. Officials say more tenders may follow later in January, although the reliance on spot purchases is expected to ease once new long-term supply contracts kick in.
Despite that, the country continues to juggle costly imports with limited local output. Re-gasification reached about 1,053 mmcfd in September—close to the national capacity of 1.10 billion cubic feet per day—according to Petrobangla. The two floating storage and regasification units at Moheshkhali now operate at roughly 95% capacity, enough to handle up to 115 cargoes annually.
The tender seeks around 3.36 million MMBtu of LNG, deliverable to Moheshkhali Island, with unloading permitted at either of the two FSRUs.
A senior official said the company may seek another spot cargo for late January. Bangladesh’s last spot tender went to BP Singapore Pte Ltd for a December 27–28 delivery at US$11.64 per MMBtu.
Alongside spot buying, the country continues long-term LNG imports from QatarEnergy LNG and OQ Trading International. Bangladesh is also receiving additional cargoes under a new short-term agreement with the Omani firm covering 17 shipments between August 2025 and December 2026.
Total natural gas output stood at around 2,626 mmcfd on Wednesday—including 892 mmcfd of re-gasified LNG—against national demand exceeding 4,000 mmcfd, underscoring the supply gap the new tenders aim to manage.
