The government has signed a deal with state-run Oman Trading International (OTI) to import around 1.0 million tonnes of LNG annually for the next 15 years.
State-run Petrobangla inked the deal on Wednesday, totalling inking of three such deals over the past week to purchase a total of 3.25 million tonnes of lean LNG (liquefied natural gas).
With these deals Bangladesh's total LNG import quantity in pipeline reached around 5.75 million tonnes, including the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Qatar's RasGas to import 2.5 million tonnes of LNG.
Petrobangla initialled a deal with Switzerland-based private firm AOT Energy AG on Tuesday to import 1.25 million tonnes of LNG per year for 15 years.
Petrobangla also inked a letter of intent (LOI) agreement with Indonesia's Petramina to import 1.0 million tonnes of LNG for 10 years on Sunday. It happened following a meeting between Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who came to Bangladesh in an official visit.
A senior official of Energy and Mineral Resources Division, under Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said Petrobangla has inked deals with Omani and Indonesian firms through government to government (G2G) negotiation.
The deal with AOT Energy AG was inked under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010 bypassing tender. The law has a provision of immunity to those involved with the quick-fix remedies, he said.
Final SPAs with these three firms will be inked after Ministry of Law vetting and nod from Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase regarding the deals. The official hoped that LNG import from these firms will start this year.
Bangladesh inked memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the three firms last year over LNG import.
The prices have been set in line with the three-month average Brent crude prices, said managing director of state-owned Rupantarito Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) Md Quamruzzaman without elaborating.
The LNG price will, however, be lower than that of RasGas, he indicated.
RPGCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary company under Petrobangla, is in charge of the country's LNG purchase. Petrobangla inked the country's first-ever SPA with RasGas to buy around 2.5 million tonnes of lean LNG annually over 15 years in last September.
During the initial five years of the deal, RasGas will supply annually around 1.8 million tonnes of LNG, which will increase up to 2.5 million tonnes annually in the next 10 years, said a senior Petrobangla official quoting the SPA terms.
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