CCGP Approves LNG Cargo Purchase From Saudi Aramco

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Friday approved the procurement of one cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Aramco Trading Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement to help meet the country's growing energy demand.

The approval came at the eighth meeting of the CCGP for the 2026-27 fiscal year, held virtually with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.

The committee approved the purchase of one LNG cargo from Aramco Trading Singapore for delivery on August 11-12, 2026, through the direct procurement method under the G2G framework.

The LNG will be purchased at $21.55 per MMBtu, officials said.

However, the committee again did not consider a separate proposal for a long-term LNG procurement arrangement with Gunvor USA LLC.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division withdrew the proposal before it could be placed for consideration, as it had done at Thursday's meeting. The proposal sought approval for direct LNG purchases from Gunvor USA LLC under a G2G arrangement for the period from 2026 to 2038.

Bangladesh has been importing LNG to supplement declining domestic natural gas production and maintain fuel supplies for power generation and industrial use.

The latest approval is expected to help support the country's gas supply by ensuring the timely arrival of an LNG cargo in August.

The country's gas supply has been gradually returning to normal following the partial restoration of the Excelerate Energy-operated floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Maheshkhali.

The disruption began on July 21 when a fire damaged electrical systems linked to the FSRU's boiler, forcing the suspension of LNG regasification at one of Bangladesh's two floating LNG terminals.

The outage reduced gas supplies to the national grid by around 450 million cubic feet per day, affecting power generation, industries, CNG stations and household cooking.

Following repairs by local and foreign engineers, the terminal has resumed partial operations and is currently supplying around 115 million cubic feet of gas per day, with output expected to increase gradually.

Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood said on Thursday that gas supplies should return to normal within two to three days as repair work continues.

Bangladesh currently faces daily gas demand of around 3,800-4,000 million cubic feet, against supplies of roughly 2,600 million cubic feet, making imported LNG increasingly important for meeting domestic demand.

The latest disruption has highlighted Bangladesh's growing dependence on LNG imports and the vulnerability of its gas supply system to disruptions at a single FSRU.