An Italian multinational oil and gas company has expressed interest to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh, a commerce ministry source said.
The company, Eni, proposed its offer to the Embassy of Bangladesh in Rome at a recent meeting.
The proposal has already been sent to the energy and mineral resources division for taking necessary measures, the source said.
When contacted, a senior official of the Export promotion Bureau of Bangladesh (EPB) said the Italian firm has shown interest to supply LNG. But he gave no other details.
A high official of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said, "We received a letter from the Embassy of Bangladesh in Rome recently. But we are yet to start working on this issue."
According to the Eni.com, Eni is a global oil and gas super-player-operating in 71 countries worldwide and employing around 33,000 people. As of March 31, 2018, the company's market capitalisation was estimated at $64 billion. The company is consistently ranked among the top 150 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list according to revenue.
Bangladesh started importing LNG since April 24, 2018, with the arrival of US giant Excelerate Energy's 'Excellence' carrying 136,000 cubic metres of lean LNG from Qatar at the Moheshkhali Island terminal.
The Petrobangla, however, started imports from Qatar's RasGas regularly since September 09 after successfully feeding regasified LNG to consumers from August 18.
Bangladesh will need to import around 30 million tonnes of LNG a year to meet the growing local demand by 2041 as domestic gas reserves are depleting fast, according to a report prepared by Copenhagen-based research firm Ramboll in association with Geological Survey of Denmark and EQMS Consulting Limited.
The country's existing gas reserves of around 12 trillion cubic feet will run out by 2038, if no new exploration and discovery takes place, said the report.
Italy is an important European country for Bangladeshi export items. The country is the sixth-largest export destination for Bangladeshi Products. Bangladesh exported US $1.5 billion worth of products to the country in fiscal 2017-18.
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