US's Excelerate Energy has brought in foreign experts to repair the damaged floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) and resume its operation.
The FSRU has remained out of operations since Tuesday following a fire incident at the FSRU on Tuesday.
The FSRU plays a critical role in Bangladesh's energy system by receiving imported LNG cargoes, storing the fuel and converting it back into natural gas before supplying to the national grid.
The shutdown has already cut gas supply to the national grid by around 450 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), reducing gas pressure in many areas, disrupting industrial production, squeezing generations in gas-fired power plants.
"CNG (compressed natural gas) filling stations are running at minimum capacity," said Farhan Noor, secretary general of the Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association.
The filling stations are failing to operate continuously due to the crisis, he said.
Long queues of vehicles in front of CNG filling stations across the country are regular as the consequences.
Consumers said the disruption intensified gas shortages in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh, where many households have been left with little or no gas for cooking for much of the day.
In some areas, supplies have stopped altogether, while factories in key industrial zones have reportedly been forced to reduce production because of low gas pressure.
Petrobangla in a brief statement on Saturday said local and foreign technical teams were working to repair and restart the Excelerate Energy-operated FSRU in Moheshkhali, but gave no timeline for restoring normal gas supply.
The teams were working "relentlessly" and expressed hope that the repairs would be completed "as soon as possible".
However, it did not explain the cause of the fault and the extent of the damage.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
