No gas supply in Ctg due to 'glitch' in floating LNG terminal

Gas supply has been shut in Chattogram since morning due to technical glitches in the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) of liquefied natural gas at Maheshkhali, said Petrobangla in a press release.

Petrobangla, however, did not mention the reason or manner of glitches in the FSRU.

An official of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), the lone state-owned LNG importer under Petrobangla, said it would take at least till evening for the gas supply to start.

Residents of Dhaka and Narayanganj are also facing acute crisis since this morning in many areas.

The Petrobangla press release said, due to the cold, many areas of the country are experiencing low gas pressure.

"Maintenance is underway and officials are monitoring it round the clock," it said, adding that production and supply of domestic gas continues.

"We sincerely apologise for the temporary inconvenience to our valued customers," it wrote.

Wishing anonymity, the RPGCL official told The Daily Star that US company Excelerate's FSRU was scheduled to be commissioned yesterday after completing maintenance. "But it was not possible due to a technical glitch."

"The Summit FSRU was also scheduled to go for maintenance after the Excelerate starts its operation. That's why the gas supply was gradually reducing from the Summit's storage. But the Excelerate could not start its operation at the right time, so the Summit terminal faced a crisis of back-up pressure. As a result, it's not possible to increase its supply," the official said, adding that the supply was shut temporarily.
"It will take time, at least till the evening."

The country is facing acute gas crisis since October last year, as a result of low import and maintenance work of one of the two FSRUs. After completion of maintenance work, the FSRU was scheduled to resume gas supply last week, but that has been delayed.