To meet the country’s growing energy demands, the government has decided to purchase five cargos of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from three countries.

Under this decision, two cargos will be procured from Switzerland, two from the United Kingdom, and one from Singapore.

The approvals were granted on Wednesday (June 3) during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) held at the Secretariat, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

Procurement Breakdown and Schedule
Following a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the decision to purchase three of the five cargos was made through the International Request for Quotation (RFQ-International) method, in accordance with Rule 105(3)(a) of the Public Procurement Rules 2025.

According to the approved proposal, the delivery schedule for these three cargos is as follows:

• 26th Cargo: Scheduled for delivery between June 26–27, 2026.
• 27th Cargo: Scheduled for delivery between June 30–July 1, 2026.
• 28th Cargo: Scheduled for delivery between July 6–7, 2026.

Of these three spot-market cargos, one will be supplied by Singapore-based BP Singapore Pte. Limited, and two will be procured from UK-based TotalEnergies Gas & Power Limited.

The total estimated cost for these three cargos stands at BDT 2,372.21 crore (including Advance Income Tax).

Swiss G-to-G Agreement
The cabinet committee also approved the direct procurement of an additional two cargos of LNG from Switzerland on a short-term basis for the year 2026. The total financial expenditure for these two Swiss cargos has not yet been finalized.

According to relevant sources, Switzerland-based SOCAR Trading SA had previously submitted an interest proposal to supply LNG on both short and long-term bases and to install a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) under a Government-to-Government (G-to-G) framework.

A policy approval for sourcing a specific number of LNG cargos from SOCAR Trading SA under the G-to-G framework for 2026 was initially cleared during a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Economic Affairs on December 20 last year.

As a cost-effective alternative to the spot market, the committee approved the pricing formula negotiated for these two G-to-G cargos.

The price has been set based on the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) formula at JKM + USD 0.125 per MMBtu. Each cargo will contain a volume of 3,360,000 MMBtu of LNG.