Gas supply drops across the country; Dhaka residents also to suffer—here is why

There are two floating terminals located in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, which convert imported Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for national distribution.

Due to adverse weather conditions in the Bay of Bengal, authorities cut LNG supply by 30 per cent, triggering a nationwide reduction in gas availability that will also impact consumers in the capital city, Dhaka.

According to sources at the Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla), the country has already been grappling with a chronic deficit in gas supply relative to demand for a prolonged period. Prior to this disruption, the two terminals were jointly supplying between 1 to 1.05 billion cubic feet of LNG per day. However, due to hostile weather conditions at sea, supply was scaled back incrementally by 300 million cubic feet, starting late Monday night. Currently, only 750 million cubic feet of LNG is being supplied, with authorities planning to ramp production back up once weather conditions improve.

Imported LNG accounts for 35 to 40 per cent of the total daily gas supply in Bangladesh. Consequently, any reduction in LNG output significantly exacerbates the ongoing gas crisis.

Sources have confirmed that the decline in LNG supply has already severely impacted gas distribution nationwide. Consequently, many households may struggle to light their kitchen stoves, industries will fail to receive gas according to their required capacities, and gas-based power generation is also likely to decline.

In response to the dwindling gas supply, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC—the utility responsible for distributing gas across Dhaka and its surrounding districts—has issued a statement expressing its regret to consumers for the inconvenience.

The press release stated that owing to inclement weather, LNG supply from the Maheshkhali terminals has dropped by approximately 300 million cubic feet. As a result, customers across all categories within the Titas Gas network will experience low gas pressure. This low-pressure situation is expected to persist until maritime conditions improve.