LNG Cargo Shortage Forces Excelerate Energy Terminal to Halt Gas Supply

DHAKA, Bangladesh:

Gas supplies from Excelerate Energy’s floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali were suspended on Wednesday after the facility ran out of its remaining LNG stocks, highlighting renewed pressure on Bangladesh’s gas supply system amid a shortage of LNG cargoes.

The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), operated by Excelerate Energy, stopped supplying gas to the national grid at around 2:40 p.m. after its remaining LNG inventory was exhausted, according to an official of state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd. (RPGCL).

Petrobangla data showed that Bangladesh was receiving about 2,289 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas at noon on Wednesday. Domestic gas fields accounted for approximately 1,628 mmcfd, while LNG contributed around 661 mmcfd.

By about 6 p.m., however, LNG supplies had fallen to roughly 562 mmcfd, while domestic gas production remained almost unchanged at around 1,627 mmcfd. As a result, total gas flow into the national transmission network declined to approximately 2,189 mmcfd.

The immediate cause of the shutdown was not a failure of the terminal’s regasification system but a shortage of LNG cargoes, officials said.

Excelerate’s terminal had earlier faced uncertainty over maintenance of its boiler. The company had initially indicated that it could take about 72 hours to restore the boiler to operation. Although the boiler was subsequently brought back into service, the terminal did not have enough LNG in storage to maintain gas supplies.

As a result, restoring the boiler alone was not sufficient to restart normal operations. Without a fresh LNG cargo, the terminal’s remaining inventory was eventually depleted, forcing the facility to suspend deliveries to the national grid.

Meanwhile, Summit’s LNG terminal in Maheshkhali remains operational and is continuing to supply gas to the national transmission system. With Excelerate’s facility offline, Summit has effectively become the principal source of LNG-based gas supply to the grid.

The disruption comes at a time when Bangladesh is increasingly dependent on imported LNG to meet demand from power plants, industries and other major consumers. Any interruption at one of the country’s floating LNG terminals can therefore have a direct impact on the balance between supply and demand across the national gas network.

Officials said the timing of Excelerate’s return to full operation will largely depend on the arrival of a new LNG cargo and the replenishment of stocks at the terminal.

Until sufficient LNG is delivered, the facility is unlikely to resume regular gas supplies, leaving the national grid more dependent on domestic production and the remaining operational LNG terminal.

The latest disruption also underscores a broader vulnerability in Bangladesh’s gas supply system: even when terminal equipment is operational, inadequate LNG inventories or delays in cargo deliveries can quickly translate into lower gas availability across the country.