Bangladesh Opens LNG Supplier Registry After Hormuz Disruptions Exposed Concentration Risk
Petrobangla's supplier expansion follows Hormuz disruptions that slashed Qatari deliveries to a fraction of normal, with JKM holding at $24.09/MMBtu on September 4.
Petrobangla, Bangladesh's state-run energy buyer, issued a new round of supplier enlistment applications on August 30 (2026-08-30), inviting companies to register for spot LNG tenders in a bid to attract more competitive bids and lower procurement costs. The initiative targets a structural problem: only a handful of the 27 suppliers currently on its approved list regularly participate.7
The thin competition leaves Bangladesh exposed when established Gulf suppliers cannot deliver. Regasified LNG accounts for around 711 million cubic feet per day of Bangladesh's total gas supply of roughly 2,336 mmcfd, according to the Financial Express. With the country's gas network running near-fully dependent on LNG to bridge its domestic shortfall, gaps in spot procurement translate quickly into generation and industrial curtailments.7
Earlier this year, those gaps opened wide. During March and April 2026, the Strait of Hormuz closure effectively severed Bangladesh's principal supply line. Qatar, which in 2025 averaged around 0.95 million tonnes per month of LNG deliveries to the region, managed just 0.06 million tonnes over both months combined. UAE supply, normally around 0.27 million tonnes monthly, delivered 0.13 million tonnes across the same period, Kpler data showed.2
The disruption's effect on India provides a benchmark for the regional shock. LNG imports into India fell to 1.67 million tonnes in March (2026-03-31) before recovering to 1.95 million tonnes in April (2026-04-30) — still 9.3% below the 2.15 million tonnes recorded in the year-ago period, Kpler data showed. Emergency cargoes from Oman, Nigeria, Angola and the United States filled part of the shortfall, but not all of it.2
Qatar's infrastructure damage is the harder problem to resolve. Analysts estimate roughly 12.8 million tonnes per annum of Qatari liquefaction capacity was sidelined, with recovery timelines extending up to five years. Leading energy consultancies collectively reduced global LNG supply projections by as much as 35 million tons. Those losses cannot be offset by re-routing tankers once the strait reopens.1
Asian LNG spot prices climbed to their highest since late March on July 16 (2026-07-16) as renewed Hormuz hostilities prompted buyers to compete for alternative cargoes, TRT World reported. The JKM spot benchmark was $24.09/MMBtu on September 4 (2026-09-04). Earlier in the disruption cycle, JKM crossed $25/MMBtu, a 143% surge from pre-crisis levels, squeezing price-sensitive buyers across South Asia.4,1
Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports moved quickly once the strait reopened. Around 10 million barrels of Saudi crude cleared the Strait of Hormuz in the days around early July (2026-07-02), with supertankers continuing to load at the port of Ras Tanura, Rystad Energy noted. But Saudi crude transiting Hormuz does nothing to address the structural damage to Qatari LNG infrastructure on the other side of the Persian Gulf.3
Pakistan has been working through the same exposure. Pakistani refiners were inquiring in late July (2026-07-22) about crude supply from the US, Nigeria, Singapore and Central Asia, OilPrice.com reported, as dual risks from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea left South Asian buyers rethinking their supply chains wholesale.5
The hunt for non-Gulf LNG alternatives has spread well beyond the immediate region. Pacific Energy — a Singapore-based company holding a 70% stake in the Woodfibre LNG project under construction near Squamish, British Columbia — said on August 8 (2026-08-08) it was fielding inquiries from Middle East buyers seeking to hedge their Gulf exposure. Ratnesh Bedi, the company's president, confirmed the interest in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.6
For Bangladesh, the practical test of the new registry is whether it draws enough Atlantic Basin and Pacific suppliers to generate genuine price competition in spot tenders. With Qatari recovery measured in years and JKM sustaining well above $20, the margin between competitive and uncompetitive procurement will increasingly depend on how many non-Gulf sellers are willing to route cargoes to Dhaka's floating storage and regasification terminals.7,1