The gas crisis in Bangladesh has become severe for the past week following a fire at the floating LNG (FSRU) terminal in Maheshkhali.
Gas supply, which had already been declining due to falling domestic production, has now dropped by nearly half. As a result, industrial production has fallen by almost one-third. Long queues of vehicles are forming at CNG filling stations.
Households are facing significant hardship and additional expenses because of the lack of gas for cooking. Reduced gas supply to gas-fired power plants has also increased the average cost of electricity generation.
For nearly a decade, Bangladesh has been facing a widening gap between gas demand and supply. Although LNG imports began in 2018, they have failed to eliminate the shortage.
Due to the lack of coordination in gas demand, exploration, production, and supply over the past decade, gas-based industries have been operating at "minimum or limited capacity" for the last four to five years.
Any sudden disruption in domestic production, LNG imports, or the regasification process quickly worsens the crisis. Following last week's accident at Petrobangla's LNG terminal, the country is once again experiencing a severe gas shortage.
Several Petrobangla officials indicated that it may take another 7 to 10 days to repair the terminal and fully restore gas supply, meaning the public's suffering is likely to continue during this period.
Last week, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit broke out at Petrobangla's floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, which is operated by Excelerate Energy.
The fire damaged critical electrical equipment and one of the terminal's boilers. The terminal has remained shut down since the incident, reducing gas supply to the national grid by approximately 450 million cubic feet per day.
At present, Bangladesh's daily gas demand is about 4.1 billion cubic feet. Even before the accident, supply stood at only around 2.65 to 2.7 billion cubic feet per day. It has now fallen further to about 2.2 billion cubic feet, creating a supply deficit of nearly half the country's demand and affecting every sector.
When Will the Crisis Ease?
Multiple sources at Petrobangla and the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company said that specialist engineers from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates are working to repair the damaged equipment.
However, officials are still unable to confirm when the terminal will be fully operational.
According to the sources, if one of the damaged boilers can be restarted within the next five to eight days, gas supply could increase by around 300 million cubic feet per day on a partial basis.
Restoring the terminal to full operating capacity, however, may take 7 to 10 days. Besides repairs, international insurance inspections and technical verification procedures must also be completed.
Cooking Gas Unavailable or Extremely Limited
Residential consumers have suffered the most from the gas crisis. In many parts of Dhaka—including Moghbazar, Rampura, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Kalabagan, Dhanmondi, Badda, Basabo, and Kafrul—pipeline gas is unavailable for most of the day.
In some areas, gas pressure briefly returns late at night before disappearing again in the morning. Elsewhere, gas is available only at very low pressure throughout the day, while some neighborhoods have no gas at all.
As a result, many families are cooking with electric stoves, induction cookers, or rice cookers. Others have switched to LPG cylinders. Many low-income households have been forced to build temporary clay or brick stoves and cook with firewood.
This has increased both hardship and household expenses. Families with limited and fixed incomes are facing additional financial pressure as they increasingly rely on buying prepared food.
Industrial Output Down by Nearly 30 Percent
The economic impact of the gas crisis has been most severe in the industrial sector. Gas-dependent garment, textile, knitwear, and other factories in Gazipur and Narayanganj have experienced serious production disruptions.
Business representatives claim that many factories are operating at only 25 to 30 percent of their normal production capacity. Some are attempting to continue production by using diesel or LPG, but this has significantly increased production costs.
Entrepreneurs fear that if the crisis continues, it will become difficult to meet export deadlines.
An official from Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company said that the company had been receiving around 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day in recent months.
That supply has now dropped to about 1.2 billion cubic feet. Because priority is being given to power plants and fertilizer factories, shortages for industrial and residential consumers have become even more severe.
Long Waits at CNG Stations
The decline in gas pressure has also created major problems at CNG filling stations. Many stations, from Dhaka to district towns, have been forced to remain closed for much of the day. Even at stations that remain open, drivers often wait for hours without being able to refill their vehicles.
Leaders of the CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners' Association said that a station normally requires at least 15 PSI of gas pressure to operate efficiently. However, pressure has now dropped to only 4 to 5 PSI in many areas, and even lower in some places.
Load Shedding May Increase
The gas shortage is also affecting electricity generation. Daily gas supply to the power sector has fallen by about 200 million cubic feet, reducing electricity generation from gas-fired power plants by between 1,000 and 1,500 megawatts.
A Power Development Board (PDB) official said that widespread rain and recent government holidays have kept electricity demand relatively low over the past few days, helping the country avoid major power outages.
However, if temperatures rise and industries resume full-scale operations, there is a significant risk that load shedding will increase.
