Bangladesh has secured two prompt spot LNG cargoes at above $20/mn Btu, as the country looks set to face an LNG supply shortage due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The country purchased a cargo for delivery over 15-16 March at $28.28/mn Btu from Gunvor, as well as a 18-19 March delivery cargo at $23.08/mn Btu from Vitol, likely on 4 March. Both cargoes were likely secured through a tender that the country issued earlier this week and closed on 4 March.
These two cargoes are likely the country's third and fourth spot purchases arriving this year. Bangladesh was last in the spot market late last year, securing a cargo for 4-5 January delivery at $10.37/mn Btu from TotalEnergies, and a 9-10 January delivery cargo from South Korean trading firm Posco at $9.99/mn Btu.
The purchases come on the back of news that other Asian importers may have also snapped up spot LNG supplies, also above $20/mn Btu in recent days. A major importer in India may have bought a March cargo at around $22/mn Btu, with at least two importers in northeast Asia also having potentially purchased prompt cargoes at above $25/mn Btu, traders said.
The South Asian country is among a handful of nations most exposed to state-owned QatarEnergy's (QE) declaration of force majeure following the halt of production of LNG and associated products to its "affected" buyers on 4 March.
Bangladesh imported just 973,160t of LNG in 2025, a whopping 74.9pc of which originated from Qatar, according to Global Trade Tracker data.
Should the conflict in the Middle East carry on for a prolonged period, Bangladesh may need to turn to alternative fuel sources to try and plug the gap, traders said.
But authorities have not issued any formal directions to utilities to import more coal, an official with a utility said. The new government is evaluating the situation following the disruption to LNG supplies and its impact on the country, the official added.
Bangladesh power utilities are regular buyers of seaborne coal, with state-owned Coal Power Generation Company recently awarding a term supply tender to a trader for mid-calorific value coal for its 1.2GW Matarbari power plant.
The country imported about 16.66mn t of thermal coal in 2025, up from 11.79mn t a year earlier, according to data from analytics firm Kpler. Coal-fired generation capacity accounts for nearly 27pc of the country's installed generation capacity, according to data from Bangladesh Power Development Board.
