Qatar Petroleum to supply 1.25m tonnes of LNG to Bangladesh

Qatar Petroleum has signed a long-term deal with Vitol to supply Vitol's customers in Bangladesh with 1.25 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually.

LNG deliveries will start later this year under the deal, Qatar Petroleum said in a statement on Monday, reports Aljazeera.

Welcoming the deal, Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of Qatar Petroleum said, "We are pleased to sign this SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement) with Vitol, and look forward to starting deliveries under the SPA to further help meet the energy requirements of Bangladesh."

"This SPA also highlights our strong ability to meet the requirements of our partners and customers. We are proud to continue to be the supplier of choice for our customers and partners around the globe," Al Kaabi added.

Vitol is a Dutch energy and logistics giant, which has grown into the world's largest independent oil trader, with annual revenues comparable to Apple.

In 2019, the company handled more than 8 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products a day, according to Bloomberg. To meet global demand for cleaner energy sources, Vitol has been beefing up its natural gas and electricity trading.

Bangladesh, with a population of 163 million, is expected to become a major LNG importer in Asia, along with Pakistan and India, as domestic gas supplies fall.

The country currently has two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) with a total regasification capacity of 28 million cubic metres (1 billion cubic feet) per day – equal to about 7.5 million tonnes a year.

Bangladesh imported 3.89 million tonnes of LNG in 2019 – through two long-term contracts with Oman Trading International and Qatargas, Reuters reported.