Summit LNG Terminal reached Moheshkhali mooring facility on Wednesday night following the fixing of the damage done during the recent cyclone Remal.
"The floating, storage and regasification unit (FSRU) will resume liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification next week," Summit Corporation Managing Director Faisal Khan told the FE on Thursday.
The Summit Corporation looks after the Summit Group's LNG infrastructure and energy trading apart from power generation issues.
But Tuesday's (July 9) damage to an arterial gas pipeline that transports regasified LNG from the coastal LNG import terminal in the Bay of Bengal to the national gas grid has emerged as a fresh challenge for Summit's FSRU to resume operation, said a senior official of the state-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL).
Bangladesh's overall LNG regasification capacity dipped to 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from 1.10 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) with the non-operation of Summit's FSRU, he added.
The damaged 30-km 42-inch Anwara-Fouzdarhat pipeline has shrunk the consumption capacity of the South Asian country's regasified LNG further down to around 225 mmcfd.
The double blows - one by FSRU damage and another by pipeline -- dipped Bangladesh's overall LNG regasification by 79.54 per cent to 225 mmcfd over the last one and a half month from late May's 1.10 Bcfd, according to official data of the Petrobangla.
If the pipeline's damage could not be fixed over the next one week, Summit's FSRU will have to remain idle, the RPGCL official feared.
The RPGCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Petrobangla, looks after LNG trading in Bangladesh.
The state-owned Gas Transmission Company Ltd, however, started work to repair the damage to the pipeline.
It may take at least 48 hours to repair the damaged pipeline, which is buried around 5-6ft below the ground, said a senior GTCL official.
GTCL, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, builds, owns, operates and maintains the national gas grid and gas transmission pipelines.
Officials said Summit's FSRU was damaged in late May during the cyclone Remal.
"During Cyclone Remal, a broken stray steel structure weighing hundreds of tonnes banged the Summit LNG Terminal, causing significant damage," a company spokesperson said previously on the issue.
"The impact sheared the vessel's outer hull, approximately one metre below the waterline, leading to water ingress into the ballast tanks," the statement spelled out.
The FSRU suspended operations on the morning of May 30 after the damage was spotted.
The Summit subsequently sought to apply a force majeure provision to avoid any demurrage or penalty resulting from the technical glitch in the FSRU.
It had left for repair in Singapore dry dock in early June.
Bangladesh had to cancel four spot LNG cargoes for June delivery windows as Summit's FSRU was totally shut during the entire June, a senior RPGCL official said.
Several long-term LNG cargoes were also deferred due to the consequences.
The Petrobangla, however, tightened the already implemented gas rationing from July 10 following the pipeline damage affecting power generation, industrial output and urban energy supply.
It has squeezed gas supply to power plants to 765 mmcfd from the pre-pipeline damage period of around 970 mmcfd, according to official data of the Petrobangla.
Some 39 gas-fired power plants are now kept shut due to a gas supply shortfall.
State-run power distribution companies have been enforcing load-shedding frequently across the country to cope with the short supply of natural gas and subsequent lower power generation.
A power outage in rural areas is the worst, while is almost in every alternate hours in the cities, a senior official of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said.
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