Bangladesh to purchase 5 LNG cargoes from Switzerland, UK, Singapore

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase has recommended separate proposals to import five liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to meet the country's fuel requirements.

Among the proposals was the purchase of two LNG cargoes from SOCAR Trading SA of Switzerland under a direct procurement process for 2026. The proposal was placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.

Under the proposal, the LNG will be purchased at a price linked to the JKM benchmark, with a premium of $0.25 per million British thermal units (MMBTU).

The committee also recommended another proposal for the purchase of three LNG cargoes through the international Request for Quotation (RFQ) process under the Public Procurement Rules 2025.

The cargoes are scheduled for delivery during three separate windows: June 26-27, June 30-July 1, and July 6-7 this year.

Under the RFQ process, BP Singapore Pte Ltd was selected to supply one cargo, while TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd, UK, was selected to supply two cargoes.

The government will spend over Tk 2,372 crore for the three cargoes.

The recommendations came at the cabinet committee's 24th meeting of 2026, held on June 3, according to a press briefing released after the meeting.

A total of seven proposals were placed before the committee for discussion.

Qatar is a long-term supplier of LNG to Bangladesh, and it ships a large amount of LNG through the Strait, which accounts for roughly a fifth of global LNG flows.

Bangladesh meets nearly 30 percent of its gas demand through imported LNG, while domestic output continues to fall short of the total requirement of about 2,650 mmcfd (million cubic feet per day), according to energy ministry data.

LNG prices have nearly doubled compared with the pre-war level of around $10–12 per MMBtu.