LNG price up from $12 to $31, supply secured through December, energy minister says
Bangladesh has bought enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the country's gas demand through December, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said on Saturday (14 November) at the fifth Bangladesh Economic Summit 2026, held at a hotel in the capital.
Speaking at the summit, titled “An economic roadmap amid global uncertainty: macroeconomic, investment and energy security strategies”, the energy minister said the gas supply situation in the country is now fairly stable, and the LNG needed to keep supplies normal through December has been purchased.
He said that, with December's supply secured, planning will now be made to buy LNG for January's demand — preparations to purchase fuel for the following month are starting now.
Describing the recent energy crisis, the minister said a problem with the floating LNG terminal (FSRU) had cut the country's gas supply by nearly half. Power generation was severely disrupted as a result, and many power plants shut down.
Industry also suffered from the gas shortage during the same period. To tackle the crisis, LNG had to be bought at high prices from the spot market, beyond the long-term contracts, he said.
Giving the price picture, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said LNG prices also rose sharply in the Singapore market at the time. The price per MMBtu of LNG was previously $12; in the latest purchases it has risen to $31.
The minister added that, with LNG prices up, the cost of gas-based power generation became almost equal to that of oil-based generation. In that situation, some units of oil-based power plants were started up to keep electricity supplies normal.
On the current situation, he said the amount of load shedding over roughly the past two weeks has been very low. Where electricity supply has been disrupted in places, it was due to technical faults, not the fuel crisis, he said.
