Bangladesh has officially joined the club of LNG-using nations as it started supplying imported liquefied natural gas through its pipeline.
On Saturday, the supply of LNG from the floating terminal in Cox’s Bazar Maheshkhali island through pipeline kicked off formally after test-runs last week.
Authorities say they expect to add the LNG to the national gas grid soon.
Southeast-based Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company said they started to receive LNG around 2:40pm.
“For the time being, we will get 75 million cubic feet LNG every day, which will be gradually increased,” Karnaphuli Gas Managing Director Khayez Ahammed Majumder told Bangla Tribune.
In late April, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) of Excelerate Energy Bangladesh brought the first shipment of 133,000 cubic metres LNG from Qatar to Moheshkhali LNG terminal.
The government said then it expected to start supply by early May, which however was delayed for what officials said due technical issues and rough seas.
A pipeline stretching to Anwara Upazila of Chattogram (Chittagong), from the LNG terminal near Moheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, has been installed to add the gas to the national grid.
The state-owned oil, gas and mineral resources company Petrobangla signed a terminal-use agreement with Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited to set up the country’s first LNG terminal on Mar 31, 2016.
Singapore-based Astra Oil and Excelerate Energy Consortium are functioning as Excelerate Energy Bangladesh for the project.
According to the deal with Excelerate Energy, Bangladesh will have to pay $0.49 per 1,000 cubic feet of gas to the firm in terminal installation costs and other expenses.
Petrobangla will get the ownership of the terminal, including the FSRU, after 15 years.