Bangladesh plans to marginally increase LNG spot imports in 2024: Petrobangla official

Bangladesh plans to marginally increase LNG procurement from the spot market in 2024 from 2023 levels by one cargo as its long-term suppliers are unwilling to boost supply under existing contracts, but lower prices could incentivize more spot imports, a senior Petrobangla official said Dec. 26.

Market participants largely expect global LNG balances to remain tight until 2025-26 due to Europe's increased reliance on LNG to replace Russian pipeline gas supply, which has constrained the amount of flexible volumes that suppliers access typically.

"We have planned to import a total of 24 LNG cargoes from the spot market during January to December 2024 compared to 23 spot LNG cargoes in 2023," the official said. "If the spot LNG prices become more favorable, we may purchase more spot LNG cargoes in 2024."

The energy and mineral resources division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has already approved Petrobangla's proposal to import 13 spot LNG cargoes from January to June 2024, the official said.

In addition to the spot cargoes, Bangladesh's two existing long-term LNG suppliers -- Qatargas and OQ Trading International -- will supply a total of 56 LNG cargoes in 2024, the same as 2022 and 2023 under existing contracts, the official added.

Out of the total, Qatargas will supply 40 and OQ Trading will supply 16 LNG cargoes, which represents the minimum quantity under their contracts with Petrobangla, said a senior official of state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd, or RPGCL, a subsidiary of Petrobangla that deals with LNG imports.

The contracted suppliers had supplied a total of 64 LNG cargoes in 2021 before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bangladesh's LNG demand is growing from industries and power plants as domestic natural gas supplies are declining, according to Petrobangla data.

Its overall natural gas supply is around 2.57 Bcf/d, of which around 501,000 Mcf/d is re-gasified LNG and 2.02 Bcf/d is local gas production, according to official Petrobangla's data as of Dec. 25.