Bangladesh Resolves FSRU Issues

Bangladesh will resume liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports this week after resolving issues with its sole floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit, a senior official said on Monday.

Two cargoes, meant to be delivered on Nov. 7 and Nov. 15, had been cancelled as the FSRU was closed due to problems with a hydraulic line that operates an emergency shutdown valve.

"The problem with the hydraulic line has been resolved now," said Mohammad Quamruzzaman, managing director of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Co, the unit in-charge of LNG imports at state-owned oil firm Petrobangla.

The next cargo with 140,000 cubic-meter LNG will arrive on Nov. 21, he told Reuters.

No LNG has been discharged into Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar since Oct. 29, shiptracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.

Bangladesh has a long-term supply agreement with Qatar's RasGas Co. The South Asian nation began importing LNG from Qatar on a regular basis in September. The FSRU arrived in April for commissioning in Moheshkhali port by Cox's Bazar.

A second FSRU project, operated by Summit Corp with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp as a partner, is expected to start operations in March next year, doubling the country's import capacity to 7.5 million tonnes a year.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; additional reporting by Jessica Jaganathan, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)