Petrobangla, Excelerate Energy Deal for LNG terminal
Petrobangla has signed an agreement with Excelerate Energy Singapore Pte Ltd to establish a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali to facilitate the supply of 500 mmcfd imported liquefied natural gas to the country.
Syed Ashfakuzzaman, secretary of state-run Petrobangla, and Karlman Tham, business development manager for Asia region of Excelerate Energy, signed the deal at Petrobangla in Dhaka.
Under the agreement, the EEBL, a subsidiary of US-based Excelerate Energy, will build the country’s first FSRU – popularly known as LNG terminal – to process imported LNG into natural gas on a build-own-operate-transfer basis.
During the signing ceremony, Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said once fully operational, the FSRU will initially supply 500 mmcfd – million cubic feet per day – which will increase to 1,000 mmcfd in two years.
Petrobangla will have to spend $1.6 billion a year to increase the supply of natural gas by 500 million cubic feet per day, according to a handout distributed after the signing of the agreement.
