Bangladesh’s gas sector has been grappling with a persistent gap between demand and supply for the past one and a half decades. Domestic gas production has been declining steadily in recent years, increasing the country’s reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The situation worsened after a fire broke out at a floating LNG terminal last Tuesday, cutting LNG-based gas supply by nearly half. As a result, the gas shortage has intensified. Households in many areas are unable to use their gas stoves, CNG-powered vehicles are facing fuel shortages, and industrial production has been disrupted.

According to sources at the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla), the country’s daily gas demand is 3.8 billion cubic feet. A supply of around 3 billion cubic feet is generally enough to avoid severe shortages. However, average daily supply has remained at around 2.7 billion cubic feet since last year. Following the terminal fire, total gas supply has fallen to 2.2 billion cubic feet.

Bangladesh imports LNG through two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) located at Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. One terminal is operated by the US-based company Excelerate Energy, while the other is run by Summit.