The energy ministry Sunday directed the state-owned Petrobangla to complete negotiation with all the 'short-listed' international firms by March to expedite the process of building the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.
"We will implement the LNG terminal project in the shortest possible time," State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) Nasrul Hamid told the FE.
He said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the MPEMR is trying to implement it to ease the mounting natural gas crisis especially of the port city Chittagong.
The Petrobangla will discuss with a US consortium of Astra Oil and Excelerate Energy, South Korea's Samsung C&T Corporation and India's Hiranandani Electricity for building the LNG terminal.
The incumbent government has marked building of the country's first LNG import terminal as a fast-track project for implementation on a priority basis.
It has been included as one of the fast-track projects to ease the country's energy crisis and accelerate economic growth.
The first meeting of the Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, last month identified the project as fast-track one.
The premier earlier on December 28, 2013 pledged to start importing LNG within five years after building key infrastructure including a floating import terminal in the Bay of Bengal.
She was making election pledges as the leader of the Awami League a week before national elections that took place on January 5.
The Petrobangla earlier conditionally awarded the US consortium comprising Astra Oil and Excelerate Energy to build Bangladesh's first floating LNG terminal.
The country's energy ministry approved revised terms in November, including payment of an $11 million performance guarantee instead of $20 million sought in the original tender and an extension in the project's timeline to 24 months from 18 months.
The Petrobangla is planning a floating LNG import terminal with a capacity to handle 5 million tonne per year of LNG and a re-gasification capacity of at least 500,000 Mcf (1,000 cubic feet) per day in the Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.
It would have berthing and mooring facilities for LNG vessels with a capacity of 138,000-260,000 cubic metres, with the Petrobangla looking for awarding the construction contract on a build-own-operate-transfer basis for 15 years.
Bangladesh has extended its memorandum of understanding with Qatar over the import of LNG, which expired in March, until June 2015, as it is confident it will be able to import LNG by then after completing the floating LNG terminal project.
Bangladesh signed the MOU with the Qatar Petroleum in January 2011 to import 4 million tonne of LNG per year but has yet to receive any imports as it has no receiving infrastructure.
Building the LNG import terminal is critical for the energy-starved southeastern Chittagong region.
Chittagong, which was once almost self-reliant in natural gas, started facing a supply crisis in 2006 as output diminished from the Sangu gas field. Bangladesh's sole offshore gas well, Sangu-11, was permanently closed in October.
