Bangladesh’s ongoing gas shortage is expected to continue as engineers work to repair a damaged floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off the coast of Cox’s Bazar, leaving millions of households in Dhaka and surrounding areas struggling with limited or no gas supply.
The disruption began after a fire broke out at the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) operated by Excelerate Energy at Moheshkhali on 21 July.
The incident damaged one of the terminal’s two boilers, forcing operations to stop and significantly reducing the country’s gas imports.
The shutdown has pushed Bangladesh’s total gas supply below 2,150 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), compared with the average supply of around 2,700 mmcfd that was maintained over the past year.
National demand daily, however, remains close to 3,800 mmcfd, leaving a substantial supply gap.
Technical specialists from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates have been working at the terminal since Thursday to restore operations.
However, Petrobangla has indicated that repairs are likely to take longer before the facility can resume supplying gas to the national grid.
Tariqul Islam Khan, Public Relations Officer of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla), said, "Work is progressing, but more time will be required to complete the repairs and restart the terminal.”
The shortage has had its greatest impact on households connected to the natural gas network. Many residents across Dhaka have reported that gas pressure has dropped to extremely low levels, making it difficult or impossible to cook.
People living in Mohammadpur, Kalabagan, Kafrul, Kazipara, West Tejturi Bazar, Mirpur, Rampura and Badda said, "Their gas stoves have remained unusable for several days.”
The prolonged disruption has forced many lower-income families to seek alternative cooking methods. Some have built temporary clay stoves fuelled by firewood, while others have switched to electric cooking appliances or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, which has increased their household expenses.
Public frustration has also grown, with residents in several neighbourhoods, including Mohammadpur, holding demonstrations and raising concerns on social media about the continuing supply disruption.
The gas shortage is also affecting key sectors of the economy.
Petrobangla estimates that gas-fired electricity generation has fallen by around 1,500 megawatts because of reduced fuel availability, increasing the risk of wider electricity shortages if supplies do not improve soon.
The transport sector has also been affected, with long queues reported at compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations across the capital.
Manufacturers are facing lower gas pressure as well, slowing production in several industrial facilities.
Petrobangla has apologised to consumers for the unexpected disruption, saying technical teams are working continuously to restore normal operations at the damaged LNG terminal.
Meanwhile, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC has warned that consumers in Dhaka and neighbouring districts should expect low gas pressure to continue until the LNG import facility is back in service.
The incident has once again highlighted Bangladesh’s heavy dependence on imported LNG infrastructure, where an unexpected technical failure can quickly affect households, electricity generation, transport and industrial activity across the country.
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