Novatek Proposes $950 Million Seabed-Fixed LNG Terminal for Bangladesh

🛢 Dhaka, Bangladesh — A new option for Bangladesh’s long-term LNG import infrastructure has been proposed, with Russian energy firm Novatek Middle East presenting a $950 million gravity-based structure (GBS) as a cheaper and longer-lasting alternative to a conventional land-based LNG terminal.

📊 The company presented the concept to Petrobangla yesterday. The proposed facility would be built in the Bay of Bengal as a fixed offshore terminal for receiving, storing and regasifying imported liquefied natural gas, with a regasification capacity of 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

💰 According to Novatek’s presentation, the GBS would cost about $950 million, compared with an estimated $1.2 billion for a conventional 7.5-MTPA land-based terminal. This would make the offshore option about $250 million, or 21 percent, cheaper in initial capital costs.

⚠ However, the figures are based on the company’s own estimates and have not been independently verified. They have also not been compared with the government’s feasibility study for the planned 7.5-MTPA land-based LNG terminal at Matarbari.

💬 Preliminary Stage, No Formal Proposal Yet

🏛 The proposal remains at a very early stage, and Novatek has not yet submitted a formal proposal to the government.

💬 “It was a very preliminary-level presentation. We have learned from them. We would discuss it later with the higher-ups,” a top Petrobangla official told The Daily Star.

🌏 The main difference between the proposed GBS and a conventional LNG terminal is where the infrastructure is located. A land-based terminal keeps LNG storage tanks and regasification facilities on the coast, with LNG carriers unloading through marine facilities. A GBS would instead place the storage and regasification facilities offshore on a large reinforced-concrete structure fixed to the seabed, with gas then sent to the national grid through a subsea pipeline.

✅ Both systems perform the same basic functions: receiving LNG, storing it, converting it back into gas and supplying it to the gas network. Novatek has identified deep-sea areas around Moheshkhali and Matarbari as possible locations.

⏱ Faster Build, Longer Life

📊 The company estimates that a GBS could be built in 30 to 36 months and have a design life of 60 to 80 years. A conventional land-based terminal would take about 48 to 60 months to build and have a design life of 40 to 60 years.

🚢 An FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit), meanwhile, could be deployed in 24 to 30 months but would have a design life of only about 15 years, according to the presentation.

🛢 Bangladesh currently imports LNG through two FSRUs at Moheshkhali and plans to add a third. The government has also revived efforts to develop its long-delayed 7.5-MTPA land-based LNG terminal at Matarbari.

🌏 The GBS proposal could therefore offer another option as Bangladesh faces a persistent gas shortage, declining domestic gas production and growing dependence on imported LNG. Recent disruptions at the country’s FSRUs have also exposed the vulnerability of LNG import facilities to technical problems and adverse weather.

👥 Two Configurations, Virtual Pipeline Phase

📊 Novatek has proposed two GBS configurations. The larger one would have gross LNG storage capacity of about 290,000 cubic metres, while the smaller one would hold about 194,000 cubic metres. Both would have 7.5 MTPA of regasification capacity, 1 MTPA of LNG bunkering capacity and 42MW of captive power generation capacity. The larger structure would also be capable of receiving the world’s largest LNG carriers.

🌬 Weather resilience is one of the main advantages claimed for the technology. Novatek describes the GBS as a stationary, all-weather terminal with “very high” resistance to cyclones. FSRUs, by comparison, can face operational disruptions from strong winds, high waves and currents.

⚠ These claims would need to be tested for the proposed site. The presentation itself calls for a detailed study of weather and marine conditions, including extreme winds, waves, storm surges, currents, seabed conditions and the safe berthing and transfer of LNG carriers.

🌏 Strategic Context for Bangladesh Energy Security

🛢 The technology draws on GBS structures developed by Novatek, which has used large concrete gravity-based structures for its Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia. The application in Bangladesh would be different — the Arctic LNG 2 structures house LNG production and liquefaction facilities, while the proposed Bangladesh facility would receive imported LNG, store it and convert it back into gas for domestic use.

🚢 The proposal also includes a second phase in which small, shallow-draft vessels would transport LNG from the offshore terminal to riverbank facilities near Meghnaghat, Ashuganj, Ghorashal and Bheramara. Novatek calls this a “virtual pipeline” that could supply major gas-consuming areas without relying entirely on the existing pipeline network.

💰 For Bangladesh’s industrial consumers — particularly textile, garment, ceramics, steel and fertiliser manufacturers — the proposed GBS terminal represents a potential breakthrough in securing reliable long-term gas supply. As declining domestic reserves squeeze industrial output, every additional LNG import pathway strengthens Bangladesh’s competitive position in global export markets and reduces reliance on a single point of failure in the country’s energy infrastructure.