A technical glitch at a floating LNG terminal (FSRU) in Maheshkhali has triggered a severe gas shortage across Bangladesh, though the Energy Ministry expects supplies to normalize within three days.
The fault at Excelerate Energy’s terminal disrupted LNG regasification on Tuesday slashing input to the national grid by roughly 400 to 450 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). Titas Gas and other distributors warned that customers will continue experiencing low pressure until the issue is fully resolved.
The sudden supply drop has caused long queues at CNG stations and forced households, power plants and industrial factories in Dhaka and other regions to grapple with low or zero gas pressure.
Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Monir Hossain Chowdhury, Joint Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) assured the public that repairs are underway and the disruption is temporary. He also urged citizens not to panic over misleading reports, confirming there is no accompanying fuel oil crisis.
Bangladesh currently holds sufficient liquid fuel reserves, including 31 days of diesel 36 days of octane and 25 days of furnace oil with additional shipments arriving by August.
The country’s daily gas demand stands at 3,800 mmcfd but the terminal fault has temporarily pushed total supply down to 2,700–2,800 mmcfd. Officials acknowledge that growing reliance on imported LNG makes the national grid vulnerable to such technical disruptions.
To boost local production and reduce import dependency, the government is drilling 100 new gas wells. This includes a newly approved Tk 7.29 billion project to drill three wells in Noakhali and Sunamganj. Other long-term energy security measures include tendering a fourth FSRU in exploring LNG imports from Malaysia and building infrastructure to pipe stranded gas from Bhola to the mainland.
