“The energy division is working with all concerned to increase gas supplies as quickly as possible,” he said.

There are two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar for supplying imported LNG. One, operated by US company Excelerate Energy, has a capacity of 600 million cubic feet, while Summit’s terminal has a capacity of 500 million cubic feet.

Excelerate’s terminal was shut down following a fire on 21 July. This reduced gas supplies and intensified the crisis. From household cooking stoves to industrial facilities and power generation, operations were disrupted. Long queues also formed at filling stations as motorists struggled to obtain compressed natural gas (CNG).

According to Petrobangla sources, Excelerate’s terminal has two boilers, each with a capacity of 300 million cubic feet. One of the boilers was damaged in the fire. Gas supplies from the undamaged boiler resumed on Thursday, while work is under way to restart the damaged one.

Once the damaged boiler is ready to be brought back into operation, the functioning boiler will have to be shut down for testing. During that period, gas supplies from Excelerate’s terminal will stop completely. Supplies could resume after a shutdown of at least 12 hours, after which they would gradually return to normal.