Excelerate Energy, Petrobangla Sign Final Agreements for Bangladesh's First LNG Import Terminal

Excelerate Energy, Petrobangla, and the Government of Bangladesh have signed the final agreement for the construction and operation of Bangladesh's first LNG import terminal – Moheshkhali Floating LNG.

Located offshore near Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, the terminal will provide the crucial infrastructure required for the country to access natural gas from global markets. The signing of the agreements signals the commencement of the project and the approval to move forward to implementation. The terminal is expected to be in operation in 2018, Excelerate said in a statement.

Moheshkhali Floating LNG will be the world's first fully integrated turnkey floating LNG terminal whereby all services will be provided under a single contract by a single provider – Excelerate Energy. Excelerate will fully develop, design, construct, install, finance, and operate the terminal. This structure will allow for a single point of interface and responsibility to Petrobangla and provide seamless operations for the Bangladeshi market.

Excelerate will operate the terminal for 15 years, after which the company will transfer ownership to Petrobangla.

The terminal will include the provision of one of Excelerate's existing floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), the installation of a subsea buoy system anchored offshore, and the employment of port service vessels during operation. The FSRU will have 138,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity and a base regasification capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet per day.