State-run ‘Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL)’ has reissued tenders to purchase three spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for March 05-06 and March 10-11 delivery windows after previous tenders failed to attract sufficient bidders.
Officials cited high prices and a lack of competition as reasons for the cancellations, warning of a potential gas crisis during Ramadan if new tenders fail again. Bangladesh aims to import four spot LNG cargoes in March to meet rising energy demand during Ramadan and the irrigation-heavy summer months. Each LNG cargo will be around 3.36 million MMBtu.
In February, Bangladesh awarded a spot LNG tender to Vitol Asia Pte Ltd at $13.82 per MMBtu. However, recent offers exceeded $15.5 per MMBtu, prompting re-tendering. To address growing demand amid declining domestic gas output, Petrobangla plans to import 115 LNG cargoes in 2025—59 from the spot market and 56 from long-term suppliers (Qatargas and OQ Trading International). This represents a 33.72% increase from the previous year’s 86 cargoes. Currently, Bangladesh’s total gas supply is 2,653 mmcfd, with 753 mmcfd coming from regasified LNG. Given spot LNG cargo prices at $45-50 million each, securing affordable supply remains a critical challenge.
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