Bangladesh gas crisis deepens as LNG terminal outage disrupts industries
New Delhi, July 30
Bangladesh is grappling with a severe gas shortage after a technical failure at one of its two floating liquefied natural gas import terminals sharply reduced supplies to the national grid, disrupting industrial production, power generation, transport services and households.
The disruption began after a fire caused mechanical damage to the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), suspending gas supply from the terminal, according to multiple reports.
According to Bangladesh's state-owned Petrobangla, the incident was caused by a spark in a control panel, leading to the loss of around 17 million cubic metres of gas supply per day.
Before the outage, the Excelerate-operated terminal supplied up to 1,050 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas daily to the national grid.
Following the incident, supply has fallen to below 500 mmcf, significantly widening the gap between demand and availability.
Bangladesh operates two FSRUs at Moheshkhali to regasify imported LNG, with the second terminal managed by Summit Group.
Together, the facilities play a critical role in supplementing declining domestic natural gas production.
The outage has reduced the country's total daily gas supply to below 2,150 mmcf from around 2,650 mmcf earlier, against estimated daily demand of nearly 3,800 mmcf.
Petrobangla is currently able to meet only about 56 per cent of national gas demand, resulting in widespread shortages.
According to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC, gas supply across its distribution network has dropped to around 1,150 mmcf per day from nearly 1,500 mmcf, while demand remains close to 1,900 mmcf.
The shortfall has affected industrial clusters, compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations and residential consumers across the country.
The textile and manufacturing sectors have been among the worst affected, with several factories reportedly reducing production by as much as 40 per cent because of inadequate gas availability.
Energy experts said the disruption has exposed structural weaknesses in Bangladesh's energy security, pointing to the country's increasing reliance on imported LNG as domestic gas reserves continue to decline.
Analysts also warned that relying on only two LNG import terminals has created a fragile supply chain, where any technical disruption at a single facility has an immediate impact on the national energy system.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Really sad to see the impact on workers and industries in Bangladesh. A 40% drop in production in textiles—that's millions of livelihoods affected. Global supply chains are so interconnected now; when one country's energy falters, it ripples worldwide. Hope international support, maybe from India or even the World Bank, can help fast-track repair or alternative sources.
From an Indian perspective, we should be proactive in offering assistance. Bangladesh is our neighbour and a key partner—especially in energy trade. We have excess LNG capacity at some terminals and cross-border pipelines (like the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline) that could help mitigate this. But we need to act fast before the situation worsens. Yaar, this is a classic 'put all eggs in one basket' scenario.
This is a human tragedy at scale. Homes without gas for cooking, hospitals struggling, and workers losing wages. The technical failure is one thing, but the lack of redundancy in the system is alarming. India should share our learnings from the recent grid failures and LNG terminal outages we've faced. Also, it's time to push for more renewable energy in the region—solar, especially, is abundant in South Asia. ☀️
Honestly, this is what happens when you become overly dependent on imported LNG without building domestic resilience. Bangladesh's domestic gas production has been declining for years—they should have invested in storage, backup capacity, or even coal/grid improvements. But saying that, I empathize with the common person suffering. A 56% supply-demand gap is brutal. Hope Petrobangla expedites repairs and learns from this.
M We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.