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By Mohi Narayan
BENGALURU, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Bangladesh will buy 10-12
spot LNG cargoes between February and June if prices soften
further, an energy adviser to the prime minister told Reuters on
Monday, in a reversal of a government decision last year to halt
spot purchases after prices spiked.
"This is a high demand season for us. Ramadan is coming,
this is also irrigation season, therefore, if market softens, we
will buy 10-12 more spot LNG cargoes," Bir Bikram Tawfiq-e-Elahi
Chowdhury said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.
Bangladesh issued a spot tender to buy a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) cargo recently after LNG prices plunged more than 70%
from August's record of $70.50/mmBtu.
"We are looking at below $20 price for spot cargoes,"
Chowdhury added, to cater to domestic demand which is going to
rise in the coming months.
The South Asian nation depends on imported natural gas for
about three-quarters of its power generation, but was forced to
ration gas supplies last year as global prices were driven up by
Russia's war in Ukraine.
Chowdhury said European sanctions on Russia which push LNG
prices up are discriminatory in nature for countries like
Bangladesh, which are unable to secure LNG supplies due to high
prices.
Asian spot LNG prices last week were $19.50 per million
British thermal units (mmBtu), the first time they have fallen
below $20 since September 2021, as inventories remain high with
peak winter demand due to end soon.
Bangladesh currently imports about 300 million-400 million
cubic feet of LNG daily through a 10-year import deal with Oman
and a 15-year import deal with Qatar.
"We had sent a delegation to negotiate a deal with Brunei
LNG but they will be supplying 2025 onwards if that
materializes," Chowdhury said.
(Reporting by Mohi Narayan, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by
Krishna N. Das and Mark Potter)
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