Excelerate Energy LP struck agreements last week for the construction and operation of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Bangladesh, the company said Monday.

National oil company Petrobangla and the government of Bangladesh executed terminal use and implementation agreements for Moheshkhali Floating LNG, which would be located offshore near Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal. When operational, which is expected during 2018, the terminal will give Bangladesh access to global natural gas markets.

Bangladesh is seen by analysts following the LNG industry as a promising new buyer of cargos in a market that is currently oversupplied. Besides Bangladesh, other smaller LNG buyers entering the market include the Philippines, West Africa, Thailand and Pakistan (see Daily GPI, June 10).

Moheshkhali Floating LNG would be the world’s first fully integrated turnkey floating LNG terminal whereby all services would be provided under a single contract by a single provider, which is Excelerate. The company plans to fully develop, design, construct, install, finance and operate the terminal. This project structure will allow for a single point of interface and responsibility to Petrobangla and provide seamless operations for the Bangladeshi market, said Excelerate, which plans to operate the terminal for 15 years, after which the company would transfer ownership to Petrobangla.

The terminal is to include the provision of one of Excelerate’s existing floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), the installation of a subsea buoy system anchored offshore, and the employment of port service vessels during operation. The FSRU will have 138,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity and a base regasification capacity of 500 MMcf/d.

The new terminal will enable Petrobangla to procure LNG from international gas markets which will further complement and enhance Bangladesh’s ability to reliably use the country’s domestic natural gas reserves, Excelerate said. The company did not provide details on expected regasification/import volumes at the terminal.