Excelerate Energy plans to raise baseload regasification capacity of Bangladesh FSRU

US-based Excelerate Energy is eying to increase the baseload regasification capacity of its Bangladesh floating storage and regasification unit by around 26% to 630 MMcf/d in early-2023 by replacing the existing FSRU with a new one.

It has already sent a proposal to state-run Petrobangla to increase its FSRU capacity to meet mounting natural gas demand across the country, Anisur Rahman, senior secretary at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the Bangladesh Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, told S&P Global Platts Aug. 5.

Excelerate's currently operational FSRU at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal has the capacity to regasify around 500 MMcf/d but it regasified around 600 MMcf/d last year.

The FSRU is scheduled to go to dry dock for a 30-day overhauling from August 2023.

But the ceasing of regasification from one of the two operational FSRUs for a month might result in an acute natural gas crisis in the country, Rahman said.

Currently, Excelerate, along with the other FSRU owned by Summit Group, regasify around 850 MMcf/d of LNG.

Bangladesh has a 15-year contract with Qatargas to import about 2.5 million mt/year of LNG at a 12.65% slope of the three-month average Brent price, plus a 50-cent constant.

It has a similar 10-year contract with Oman Trading International at an 11.9% Brent slope plus 40 cents.

The country has also enlisted 18 companies to import LNG from the spot market for meeting demand.

According to a PetroBangla estimate, mounting gas consumption in power plants and industries is expected to more than double the country's LNG imports to around 2 Bcf/d by 2025.