Bangladesh’s natural gas supply has suffered a major setback after a fi re forced the shutdown of one of the country’s fl oating LNG import terminals (FSRU) operated by USbased Excelerate Energy off Maheshkhali, reducing national gas supply by around 450-500 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD).
The disruption has brought the country’s total gas supply down to around 2,200 MMcfd, intensifying shortages for industries, power plants, CNG fi lling stations and residential consumers across the country.
Speaking at a recent program, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said the incident had created a signifi cant shortfall in gas supply.
He noted that Bangladesh narrowly avoided a more serious accident because no LNG carrier was connected to the terminal when the fi re occurred.
The Minister said the supply disruption has severely affected consumers in several parts of the country, including Mymensingh, where households, industrial users and CNG stations are experiencing acute gas shortages.
In some areas, the crisis has triggered public protests and road blockades.