Bangladesh FSRU Expected to Resume Ops in September

August 16, 2024

LNG carrier - © vladsv / Adobe Stock

Bangladesh's Summit LNG expects to complete repositioning and reconnecting work on its floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) by August-end, it said, assuming favourable weather and sea conditions.

Ship-to-ship transfer operations at its FSRU, which acts as a floating LNG import terminal, are expected to be ready in September, the company added.

Summit LNG had paused operations on the FSRU after it was damaged by a steel structure when Cyclone Remal lashed Bangladesh in May, and it declared force majeure on LNG deliveries.

The FSRU was then sent to Singapore for repairs, but then encountered difficulties reconnecting with the disconnectable turret mooring (DTM) plug in the subsea landing pad due to an unexpected entanglement and damage.

In a statement late Thursday, Summit said it is working with its partners to resume the FSRU operations, but adverse weather conditions at sea and almost zero underwater visibility have posed significant obstacles for rectifying the damage.

To reconnect the FSRU, the DTM plug has to be repositioned on the centre of the landing pad located on the seafloor, said Summit, adding, it has contracted a stronger crane to move the DTM which is expected to reach the site on Aug. 22.

"Assuming favourable weather and sea conditions, Summit anticipates completing the repositioning and reconnection of the DTM plug by the end of August and ship-to-ship transfer ready in September."

With a population of over 170 million people, Bangladesh relies on LNG to meet power demand. It has seen annual imports increase, and last year shipped in 5.2 million metric tons of the fuel, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

Summit's FSRU is one of Bangladesh's two floating LNG import terminals, with a regasification capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day that supplies gas to the national grid. It began commercial operations in April 2019.

(Reuters - Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru and Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Rashmi Aich)