By Ruma Paul and Emily Chow
DHAKA, April 17 (Reuters) - Bangladesh will import four
spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery in June to
meet increased power demand over the peak summer season, the
chairman of Petrobangla said.
"We purchased eight spot cargoes and we're in the process of
purchasing four cargoes in June," said Zanendra Nath Sarker, the
chairman of the Petrobangla, on Monday.
Petrobangla, in charge of LNG imports in Bangladesh, will
also get five to six cargoes in June under existing long-term
supply deals, another official said.
Petrobangla has been tapping the market for spot LNG imports
since February, buying an average of two cargoes per month,
reversing a government decision last year to halt spot purchases
after prices spiked following the Russia-Ukraine war.
But Asia LNG prices have eased this year on high
stockpiles and muted North Asia demand, and were down 83% from
record highs at $12 per million British thermal units on Friday.
The slide in prices enabled Bangladesh to buy three spot
cargoes in May on rising demand for the summer.
"Prices are softening and that's good. We are making all
efforts to ensure energy supplies to keep the economy running,"
Sarker said.
"We're also close to finalising other long-term deals with
Oman and discussion is ongoing with Qatar," he said without
giving details as the deals were still being negotiated.
Bangladesh relies on imported LNG for nearly three-quarters
of its power generation, amid dwindling local gas reserves and a
lack of sufficient coal-fired capacity.
But the South Asian nation was forced to slash LNG imports
and ration gas supplies last year, driving down power output
despite a rise in demand, as global gas prices rose amid
Russia's war in Ukraine.
This led to frequent power cuts in many areas of the country
despite government efforts to ration gas supplies, and resulted
in a fuel shortage that forced millions of citizens into hours
of darkness every week during the second half of last year.
Bangladesh's LNG imports in 2022 fell 13% from the previous
year to 4.4 million tonnes, according to data firm Kpler. The
country has imported 1.45 million tonnes of LNG so far this
year.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Emily Chow in Singapore;
Editing by Christopher Cushing)
emily.chow.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
