A tentative recovery in Bangladesh’s national gas supply collapsed on Wednesday afternoon as operations at Excelerate Energy’s Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) came to a complete halt due to depleted reserves. The national grid had briefly stabilized over the weekend when Summit Group’s terminal resumed full output and Excelerate restored partial operations following a 25-day supply shortfall. However, a total absence of incoming shipments over the past three days rapidly drained remaining buffer stocks, forcing the US-based operator to close offloading valves entirely at 3:00 PM.

Procurement Failures and Tanker Delays

The operational collapse points to severe vulnerabilities within the national procurement framework managed by Rupantarita Grammeen Power Company Limited (RPGCL), the Petrobangla subsidiary responsible for overseeing LNG imports. Seeking lower prices outside standard long-term contracts, energy authorities issued several direct purchase orders. Four cargo deliveries were scheduled to dock under these direct purchasing arrangements this month, yet none arrived. Consequently, despite having functional regasification infrastructure ready to process fuel off the coast of Moheshkhali, state grid managers were left without feedstock.

The broader disruption dates back to 21 July, when a fire forced Excelerate’s offshore unit to suspend operations. Although technical crews cleared the facility to resume full regasification by Saturday, the absence of fresh LNG carriers restricted operations to drawing down residual reserves. Processing volumes fell steadily through Monday and Tuesday before running out completely on Wednesday.

Grid Capacity and National Supply Figures

Bangladesh faces a baseline demand of roughly 3,800 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas across its domestic, industrial, and power sectors. Under normal operating conditions, Petrobangla manages the transmission grid by distributing around 2,700 MMcf/d, of which 1,050 MMcf/d is supplied via re-gasified LNG from the two offshore FSRUs. Excelerate Energy operates a daily capacity of 600 MMcf/d, while Summit Group’s unit handles up to 500 MMcf/d.

The structural reliance on these two floating units leaves the national grid exposed to sharp deficits whenever cargo schedules slip:

• 1,640 MMcf/d: Total national gas injection on Friday afternoon with both terminals out of service.

• 90 MMcf/d: Initial output discharged by Summit Group on Friday evening to restart feed.

• 2,420 MMcf/d: Total national distribution reached by early Saturday morning following Summit’s recovery.

• 2,400 MMcf/d: National supply recorded on Sunday as Excelerate’s reserves began dwindling.

• 2,280 MMcf/d: Combined distribution on Monday as terminal stock levels fell further.

• 660 MMcf/d: Total LNG injection into the transmission pipeline on Tuesday.

• 550 MMcf/d: Current LNG injection level following Excelerate’s complete shutdown.

• 2,180 MMcf/d: Total national gas supply recorded by Wednesday evening, reflecting a 100 MMcf/d drop in six hours.

Outlook for Industrial Sectors

With Excelerate offline, the national grid depends entirely on Summit’s unit discharging around 550 MMcf/d into the pipeline network. Industrial hubs across Chittagong, Dhaka, and Gazipur are already bracing for reduced pipeline pressure and potential operational cutbacks.

A replacement cargo is scheduled to anchor on Thursday, though officials confirmed it will be routed exclusively to Summit’s terminal. Excelerate’s facility is not expected to receive its next shipment until 23 or 24 August, leaving the terminal inactive for several days and prolonging energy rationing across power generation and manufacturing sectors.