QatarEnergy has recently agreed to supply a liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment under its initial long-term supply contract with Petrobangla. According to the information provided, the price of the LNG shipment will be around $13 per million British thermal units (MMBTU), which is less than half of the market price for LNG shipments in the current unstable conditions.
LNG Supply in Critical Conditions
This Qatari company has succeeded in supplying this LNG shipment following requests from government officials in Bangladesh amid the Middle East crisis and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. However, QatarEnergy has announced that it has extended the duration of its "force majeure" declaration for LNG supply until the first half of November. Since March 4, following the announcement of a halt in LNG production due to the repercussions of the war in the Middle East, the force majeure status has been applied to LNG supply to Bangladesh.
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Consequences of the War in the Middle East on the LNG Supply Chain
The LNG supply chain in Bangladesh has been severely affected by the halt in LNG supply from the Qatari supplier. Despite the ongoing force majeure status since March, QatarEnergy has recently signed a new agreement with Petrobangla to supply several LNG shipments as "additional products" under its existing long-term contract with this company.
Bangladesh has recently allocated three LNG shipments for the dates of November 6, 10, and 22 to QatarEnergy Trading LLC. The price of these shipments is at JKM negative $0.02 per MMBTU. Before the outbreak of the war between the United States and Iran and the resulting disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, QatarEnergy was the largest LNG supplier for Bangladesh.
The state-owned Petrobangla is expected to receive only about half of its projected deliveries for 2026 from QatarEnergy. Meanwhile, Bangladesh signed a 15-year agreement with QatarEnergy in 2023 for the supply of additional LNG volumes, which will commence delivery in 2026.
Bangladesh signed its first long-term LNG purchase agreement with QatarEnergy in 2017, and under the 15-year contract established between RasGas and Petrobangla, QatarEnergy can supply up to 2.5 million tons of LNG per year.
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