Bangladesh Gas Crisis Exposes LNG Supply Chain Weakness

Bangladesh is facing a severe gas crisis due to logistical weaknesses and concentration risks in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain, according to a recent report. The country's total gas availability stood at around 2,420 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) in mid-August, short of the national demand of about 3,800 MMcfd.

The shortage has affected factories, filling stations, households, and power plants, with the supply disruption attributed to failures in the LNG import chain rather than a single procurement issue. Excelerate Energy's Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) went offline due to technical problems and a fire, while weather-related unloading delays at a terminal left inventories exhausted.

The report highlighted that the country's LNG supply chain lacks redundancy, exposing it to risks in case of failures. Gas imports must pass through various stages, including procurement, cargo nomination, shipping, vessel scheduling, navigation, storage, regasification, and transmission before reaching consumers.