Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh is set to sharply increase its liquefied natural gas imports from long-term suppliers in 2026, with contracted volumes rising by about 54 per cent as three new supply agreements take effect from January.
State-run Petrobangla plans to import 86 LNG cargoes from long-term suppliers next year, up from 56 cargoes in 2025, according to officials familiar with the procurement plan. The increase follows the activation of three sales and purchase agreements—two with existing suppliers QatarEnergy and OQ Trading, and one with US-based Excelerate Energy.
Under the plan, Bangladesh will receive 56 cargoes from its two existing long-term suppliers and an additional 30 cargoes under the new agreements. OQ Trading will also supply 12 cargoes under a short-term arrangement.
Altogether, the country expects to import about 115 LNG cargoes in 2026, around 5.5 per cent more than last year. Of these, 86 will come from long-term contracts, 12 from short-term deals and 17 from the spot market through competitive bidding.
In 2025, Bangladesh imported 109 LNG cargoes—56 from long-term suppliers, 49 from the spot market and four under short-term arrangements, according to official data.
All imported LNG will be re-gasified at the country’s two floating storage and regasification units located off Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.
Petrobangla said industrial consumers will remain the top priority in gas allocation as the government prepares its fuel distribution plan to support economic activity. Industry is expected to receive the maximum possible gas supply to keep factories running, even if demand from other consumer groups increases.
Gas supply to industries has already been near capacity, while fertiliser factories have also been receiving higher volumes. During the first four months of 2025, gas supply to industries rose by 21 per cent year-on-year to an average of 997 million cubic feet per day, compared with 823 mmcfd a year earlier.
From late May 2025, Petrobangla diverted around 150 mmcfd of gas from power generation to industries after importing additional LNG cargoes. Extra imports ensured roughly 250 mmcfd of additional gas for industrial use between June and October, ahead of the winter season.
Despite higher imports, officials cautioned that gas rationing will remain necessary to manage shortages. Since LNG imports began in 2018, Bangladesh has brought in about 34.34 million tonnes of LNG through 554 cargoes as of November 2025.
As of late December, the country’s total gas supply stood at around 2,440 mmcfd, including about 702 mmcfd of re-gasified LNG and roughly 1,740 mmcfd from domestic gas fields.
