Bangladesh resumes spot LNG purchases as fuel demand rebounds
DHAKA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Bangladesh has issued three tenders to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market, officials said on Sunday, as fuel demand rebound after the end of anti-government protests and the resumption of operations at its main Summit LNG terminal.
The state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company, responsible for LNG imports, is seeking three LNG cargoes, each carrying 138,000 cubic meters, the officials said.
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Two deliveries are scheduled for the first week of October, with another in the second week.
The tenders are the first issued by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took office after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following protests.
The new administration said it would purchase LNG through an open tender process for the sake of transparency.
Bangladesh had suspended LNG spot purchases in July due to the shutdown of Summit’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which was damaged by a stray pontoon during a cyclone. The terminal had been offline since May 27.
The student-led protests, and the curfews and other government measures to crackdown on them, had also reduced activity and fuel demand, but this has since recovered.
Bangladesh heavily relies on LNG for energy, and also imports LNG through two long-term contracts for 2.5 million tons a year from Qatar and 1 million tons from Oman.
Last year, Bangladesh imported 5.2 million metric tons of LNG, according to data from Kpler, but owes more than $600 million to LNG suppliers, Petrobangla officials said.
In a televised address last week, Yunus said the government is appealing for $5 billion in aid from to help stabilise an economy that has been struggling since the Ukraine war sharply increased the cost of fuel and food imports. Last year, Bangladesh sought a $4.7-billion bailout from the IMF.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul; editing by Miral Fahmy)