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16 min ago 3 min read
Bangladesh’s planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import infrastructure could push the country’s annual LNG import bill to around $8.5bn after 2030, according to new analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The warning comes after a summer of disruption at Bangladesh’s LNG import terminals, with a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) operated by Excelerate Energy recently forced to halt gas supplies for three days after running critically low on LNG inventories.
The incident followed a fire and subsequent shutdown at the same facility in July, revealing the country’s vulnerability to disruptions in its imported gas supply.
IEEFA estimates Bangladesh could require around 730 bcf of LNG imports annually after 2030, more than double the 327.8 bcf imported in 2025. At an average LNG price of $12/MMBtu, this would result in an annual import bill of around $8.5bn. At $20/MMBtu, the cost could rise to approximately $14bn.
Shafiqul Alam, IEEFA’s Lead Analyst, Energy, for Bangladesh, said the planned expansion would leave the country increasingly exposed to international gas markets.
Bangladesh currently plans to add two FSRUs and a land-based LNG terminal, which IEEFA estimates could increase LNG’s share of the country’s gas consumption from around 33% in 2025 to more than 60% after 2030.
Alam warned that the additional infrastructure could also struggle to achieve high utilisation if LNG becomes too expensive for the country to afford.
“The unaffordability of LNG may result in subdued capacity utilisation of new terminals,” he wrote.
IEEFA estimates that 730 Bcf of annual LNG imports would represent around 65% utilisation of Bangladesh’s total LNG terminal capacity after the planned additions.
The analysis comes as Bangladesh continues to face a structural gas deficit of around 1.3 bcf per day, with the country relying heavily on LNG to supplement domestic production.
The country’s growing LNG activity has also brought into focus. Nine workers died earlier this month after being exposed to toxic gas at an LNG shipbreaking yard in Chattogram.
The at the Maheshkhali FSRU demonstrated the consequences of that reliance. The terminal resumed supply last weekend at around 100 million cubic feet per day, gradually increasing towards its designed 600 mmcfd capacity.
With both FSRUs operating, Bangladesh was receiving around 670 mmcfd of LNG as of Saturday, according to Petrobangla.
The country has also faced disruption to long-term LNG supplies following the conflict in the Persian Gulf, which led QatarEnergy to halt production and declare force majeure.
Bangladesh imported around 4.15 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar in 2025, accounting for approximately two-thirds of its LNG import requirements.
IEEFA argues that expanding LNG infrastructure risks increasing Bangladesh’s exposure to both international prices and supply disruptions.
“Reducing Bangladesh’s heavy reliance on gas requires careful transition planning,” wrote Alan, with IEEFA calling for greater use of domestic gas, regional hydropower, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures alongside LNG.
While additional LNG capacity could help address the country’s persistent gas shortage, IEEFA warns that meeting more of that demand through imports could leave the country facing a much larger and more volatile energy bill.
