The country's overall gas supply from gas-fired power plants increased with the resumption of regasification by the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), owned by Summit LNG Terminal Co (Pvt).
The floating regasification unit of Summit Group has started regasifying liquefied natural gas (LNG) after resolving a technical glitch on its return from overhauling in Singapore, sources say.
A senior Petrobangla official told the FE on Monday that Summit's FSRU started regasification from April 12 in a limited volume.
Summit's regasification reached around 450 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) on Monday, which is around 90 per cent of its regasification capacity of 500 mmcfd, he added.
The country's overall LNG regasification reached around 936 mmcfd as both the FSRUs -- Summit's one and another owned by US-based Excelerate Energy -- are now operational, the official added.
The state-run Petrobangla is now capable of providing natural gas to the tune of around 1,180 mmcfd to power plants, which was around 900 mmcfd last week, according to the Petrobangla data as on April 14.
The power supply situation across the country also improved with the easing of load-shedding as a consequence, said the official.
Overall regasification surged to 1,100 mmcfd with the resumption of Summit's FSRU from previous 1,000 mmcfd.
Sources said a delay in the resumption of regasification from Summit's FSRU was causing an unexpected gas shortage with frequent power outages since early April.
The delay in recovering 'gigantic' hold-back chains from the seabed, required for tying up the FSRU with the mooring facility, was hampering its resumption in operation, they said.
The chains, which were kept at sea after the de-plugging of the Summit's FSRU in mid-January, were covered with around 5-6 feet silt in the seabed, which made the task of technical personnel tough to recover.
Divers from abroad were brought to recover the chains and ready the FSRU for LNG regasification after tying the FSRU with the mooring facility on the Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, they added.
Earlier, the Summit's FSRU reached the Matarbari mooring facility on March 31.
The 3.75-million tonne per year (MTPA) capacity FSRU was scheduled to initiate LNG regasification from the first week of April.
The FSRU ceased operation in mid-January for its overhauling in Singapore.
It was the Summit FSRU's first overhauling since the beginning of commercial operation on 30 April 2019.
The Excelerate Energy's FSRU, Excellence, was regasifying above its official regasification capacity of 600 mmcfd to ensure better gas supply across Bangladesh in the absence of Summit's.
Despite capacity constraints in LNG regasification, the government, however, has recently ramped up LNG imports from spot market in view of the falling prices in the international market, said sources.
The corporation is importing three spot LNG cargoes in May and four in April, the highest spot LNG imports in a single month, according to the official.
Separately, two long-term LNG suppliers from the Gulf region -- Qatargas and OQ Trading -- are also supplying LNG in line with their annual delivery programmes.
azizjst@yahoo.com