Bangladesh's state-controlled Rupantarita Prakritik Gas (RPGCL), through its parent company Petrobangla, is looking to buy one early-March delivery LNG cargo.
The cargo is sought on a des basis for delivery over 11 March, likely to be delivered to the 3.8mn t/yr Moheshkhali FSRU LNG terminal. Bids for the tender are due at 08:00 Abu Dhabi time (04:00 GMT) on 12 February.
This is the firm's second tender for the year. The firm was last in the market two weeks ago, seeking one cargo for delivery over 21-22 February through a tender that closed on 29 January. The tender may have been awarded to a portfolio major at just below $20/mn Btu, market participants said.
The dip in prices has mainly spurred demand from south and southeast Asian buyers with regular spot requirements, although northeast Asian buyers have held back more. Thailand's state-controlled PTT has issued an average of one tender a week this year. The firm is seeking four LNG cargoes over late March to mid-April through a tender closing on 9 February.
More demand might emerge in coming weeks if prices continue to soften, market participants said, alongside an overall softening in TTF Dutch contract prices. The TTF Dutch March contract closed at $16.877/mn Btu on 8 February, down by 29¢/mn Btu from the previous day as forecasted mild weather is expected to keep a lid on gas demand.
March supply is expected to be mostly ample. Egypt's state-owned gas firm Egas has offered one cargo loading over 21-23 February, through a tender closing on 9 February. The cargo will likely arrive in northeast Asia over the first half of March, if delivered to the region.
Buyers in Bangladesh typically pay a price that is at parity to spot LNG prices delivered to India because of their geographical proximity to the country. But Petrobangla has often had to pay prices that are on par with or occasionally even higher than delivered northeast Asia prices, because of the firm's narrower specifications for cargo, market participants said.
Argus-assessed prices for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia over the first half-March was last assessed at $17.355/mn Btu on 8 February, about $1.345/mn Btu lower than a week earlier.
