Petrobangla, Excelerate Energy Sign Initial LNG Terminal Agreement

Bangladesh Oil and Gas Corporation, or Petrobangla, has signed an initial agreement with Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited (EEBL) to use their LNG processing terminal, Dhaka Tribune reported Friday.

Excelerate will build country’s first floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) on a build-own-operate-transfer basis. The unit will come up at Maheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.

After receiving approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on the project, Petrobangla will sign the final agreement with the EEBL for 15 years, Dhaka Tribune reported.

EEBL will conduct the geophysical study within the next two months. The company plans to build the terminal within 16 months of signing the final deal. The import of LNG may start in early 2018.

Petrobangla will pay 0.59 cents per million British Thermal Unit (mBTU) to use the terminal. Petrobangla will also pay the port service charges and taxes on behalf of the EEBL throughout the duration of the contract.

Furthermore, the Bangladesh government will have to buy the LNG, which will be imported from Qatar and other countries.

The terminal’s LNG storage capacity will be 138,000 cubic metres, and it will receive a supply of 500-600 million cubic feet per day.