Govt approves Chinese FSRU project despite higher cost

Résumé détaillé

The government has approved a proposal to establish a third floating LNG terminal at Kutubjom in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, through a government-to-government arrangement with a…

The government has approved a proposal to establish a third floating LNG terminal at Kutubjom in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, through a government-to-government arrangement with a Chinese state-owned company, despite its proposed regasification charges being significantly high.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved the proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division at a meeting yesterday.

Under the proposed arrangement, China National Energy Engineering & Construction (CNEE) will establish the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at an estimated cost of Tk 12,324 crore for 15 years or Tk 13,161 crore for 20 years.

The proposed terminal will have a base regasification capacity of 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), with a peak capacity of 750 mmcfd.

An earlier analysis by The Daily Star found that CNEE’s proposed daily service fee was 35-37 percent higher than what Bangladesh currently pays for its two operational FSRUs.

Under the 15-year arrangement, CNEE will charge $342,000 a day, compared with $254,000 for Excelerate Energy’s terminal and $249,115 for Summit LNG’s terminal.

The proposed fee is also higher than the $239,653-a-day benchmark recommended in a feasibility study by state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company (RPGCL) in 2025.

A seven-member government negotiation committee had recommended two options for the CNEE deal: a 15-year agreement at $342,000 a day or a 20-year agreement at $329,000 a day. However, the committee itself said it could not determine how much of the additional cost was justified without a more detailed assessment.

The Daily Star’s earlier investigation also found that CNEE had no prior experience in developing FSRUs. Despite this, the company was selected for negotiations under the G2G arrangement, without competitive bidding.

Début de l'article, extrait de The Daily Star. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.