Bangladesh to develop two new LNG import terminals by 2030

Dawn reported that Bangladesh expects to have a new floating terminal for importing liquefied natural gas operational by 2028. The timeline came from Anindya Islam Amit, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, who spoke at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo. A land-based import facility at Matarbari is also planned, with completion targeted for 2030.

The new floating unit will sit at Moheshkhali Island, near Cox's Bazar, with capacity of about 600 mmcfd. The onshore terminal is projected to handle roughly 1,000 mmcfd, and together with the two floating terminals already running, which can handle up to 1,100 mmcfd, total capacity would rise. Amit linked the expansion to expected growth in gas demand, with extra LNG needs of 3-4 mtpa for 2026 to 2030 and 17-18 mtpa from 2031 to 2040.

Bangladesh has relied on spot purchases this year after QatarEnergy declared force majeure on its shipments, following damage to its LNG facilities during the US-Iran war. Data from analytics firm Kpler, as reported by Dawn, put imports near 7 million tonnes last year, with most supplies coming from Qatar. In July, Petrobangla's acting chairman Abdul Mannan said QatarEnergy had halved scheduled deliveries for the year.