Ongoing gas shortage to go on for at least two weeks

The ongoing gas shortage across the country will remain the same for a fortnight as the re-installation of the damaged Disconnectable Turret Mooring (DTM) on the subsea landing pad of the Summit-run LNG regasification terminal may take two more weeks.

In a statement issued today, Summit Corporation International said the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) may resume the ship-to-ship transfer in September.

The Summit Corporation said they have been working tirelessly to resume operations of the LNG Terminal while maintaining the highest safety standards.

"In July, due to adverse weather conditions at sea and almost zero underwater visibility, the damage identified by the internationally licensed subsea diving team has posed significant obstacles to rectifying the mishap of offset Disconnectable Turret Mooring (DTM) on the subsea landing pad of the FSRU," it said.

To reconnect the FSRU, the DTM plug has to be repositioned on the centre of the landing pad which is located on the seafloor, it said.

"Although the Anchor Handling Tug (AHT) Coral was equipped to perform this repositioning, unfortunately, it was unable to exert the force required to reposition the DTM. For a stronger and higher capacity crane to move the DTM, Summit has contracted 'Oriental Dragon', a Diving Support Vessel (DSV) expected to reach Moheshkhali from Singapore on August 22," the statement added.

Assuming favourable weather and sea conditions, Summit anticipates completing the repositioning and reconnection of the DTM plug by the end of August 2024 and ship-to-ship transfer ready in September 2024.

The FSRU was damaged during the cyclone Remal on May 27. After repairing abroad, it was supposed to start operation by the first half of July. But on July 11, during the preparation for mooring the FSRU with the Disconnectable Turret Mooring (DTM) plug in the subsea landing pad, there was an entanglement and damage to the DTM buoy messenger line.