Staff Reporter :
The government plans to import 500mmcf LNG from the year 2018 by setting up a terminal in the Bay of Bengal.
In this regard, state-owned Petrobangla on Thursday signed an agreement with Excelerate Energy Singapore Pte Ltd to set up a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali to facilitate the supply of 500 mmcf per day imported liquefied natural gas in the country.
About 91 kilometers pipe line from Moheshkhali to Anowara of Chittagong will be set up under the sea for the purpose.
The government also plans that two more land-based LNG terminals will be set up in the country to import more gas to meet the country’s growing demand.
Briefing reporters on the occasion, Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said, the Singapore-based firm will set up the FSRU (LNG terminal) within the next 23 months on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis and operate it for the next 15 years.
The signing of the agreement is a follow-up step of the
earlier signed ‘term sheet agreement’ on January 14 last year. Now, it needs another step to get into the final deal to make it fully operational.
Officials hope that the final deal with the Excelerate Energy Singapore Pte Ltd will be signed within the next two months and then the deal will be made effective for the start of the physical works for the project.
Excelerate Energy set up a special purpose company – Exelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited (EEBL) – for the execution of the project.
At the function, State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said, after construction, the LNG terminal will come into operation in first quarter of the 2018.
“This project will boost gas supply to industries, especially the textile and garment industries, which are planning to increase export to $50 billion annually.”
He said Bangladesh has already signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar to import NLG and supply it to the country through the FSRU. Apart from this, LNG will be imported from other foreign sources.
He said another two land-based LNG terminals will be set up in the country to import more gas to meet the country’s growing demand.
As per the contract, officials said, the Excelerate Energy will set up FSRU with a capacity of 138,000 cubic metre LNG and daily supply of 500 mmcf gas to the gas network.
The company will charge 0.49 US cents per unit (million cubic feet) of gas for regasification and processing of the imported LNG.
Finally, each unit of gas will cost between $7 and 8 and the country will have to spend $1.6 billion annually to import, process and supply the gas to the country, said the Petrobangla officials.
Petrobangla Director Qamruzzaman said, Excelerate Energy will immediately start conducting geophysical and geotechnical survey in Moheshkhali area as part of the feasibility study of the project for avoiding any further delay although it takes two months’ time to sign a final deal with the company.
The government plans to import 500mmcf LNG from the year 2018 by setting up a terminal in the Bay of Bengal.
In this regard, state-owned Petrobangla on Thursday signed an agreement with Excelerate Energy Singapore Pte Ltd to set up a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali to facilitate the supply of 500 mmcf per day imported liquefied natural gas in the country.
About 91 kilometers pipe line from Moheshkhali to Anowara of Chittagong will be set up under the sea for the purpose.
The government also plans that two more land-based LNG terminals will be set up in the country to import more gas to meet the country’s growing demand.
Briefing reporters on the occasion, Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said, the Singapore-based firm will set up the FSRU (LNG terminal) within the next 23 months on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis and operate it for the next 15 years.
The signing of the agreement is a follow-up step of the
earlier signed ‘term sheet agreement’ on January 14 last year. Now, it needs another step to get into the final deal to make it fully operational.
Officials hope that the final deal with the Excelerate Energy Singapore Pte Ltd will be signed within the next two months and then the deal will be made effective for the start of the physical works for the project.
Excelerate Energy set up a special purpose company – Exelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited (EEBL) – for the execution of the project.
At the function, State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said, after construction, the LNG terminal will come into operation in first quarter of the 2018.
“This project will boost gas supply to industries, especially the textile and garment industries, which are planning to increase export to $50 billion annually.”
He said Bangladesh has already signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar to import NLG and supply it to the country through the FSRU. Apart from this, LNG will be imported from other foreign sources.
He said another two land-based LNG terminals will be set up in the country to import more gas to meet the country’s growing demand.
As per the contract, officials said, the Excelerate Energy will set up FSRU with a capacity of 138,000 cubic metre LNG and daily supply of 500 mmcf gas to the gas network.
The company will charge 0.49 US cents per unit (million cubic feet) of gas for regasification and processing of the imported LNG.
Finally, each unit of gas will cost between $7 and 8 and the country will have to spend $1.6 billion annually to import, process and supply the gas to the country, said the Petrobangla officials.
Petrobangla Director Qamruzzaman said, Excelerate Energy will immediately start conducting geophysical and geotechnical survey in Moheshkhali area as part of the feasibility study of the project for avoiding any further delay although it takes two months’ time to sign a final deal with the company.
