Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) has urged people not to be misled by rumours circulating on social media claiming that gas supply across the country will remain suspended for four days.
In a statement issued on Tuesday (November 3), Petrobangla said a group had been deliberately spreading misinformation by creating fake news cards bearing the logos of different media outlets, triggering unnecessary public panic.
Clarifying the situation, the state-owned corporation said emergency maintenance work was underway at Summit LNG Terminal, one of the two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals located in Maheshkhali of Cox's Bazar. As a result, the terminal's regasification operations would remain suspended during the maintenance period.
Consequently, daily gas supply could fall from the current 2,570 million cubic feet to 2,250 million cubic feet over the next four days, representing a reduction of around 320 million cubic feet per day.
However, Petrobangla stressed that gas supply would not be completely suspended nationwide. Instead, some areas might experience temporarily reduced gas pressure due to the lower supply.
The corporation urged consumers to ignore misleading information and rumours circulating on social media and rely on official announcements for updates.
Gas shortages and low pressure have already been affecting different parts of the country for a prolonged period due to a persistent gap between daily demand and supply. Residential, industrial and commercial consumers are among those experiencing difficulties.
Any disruption to LNG terminal operations for maintenance or other reasons further reduces the volume of gas entering the national grid.
The two floating LNG terminals in Maheshkhali convert imported liquefied natural gas into a gaseous form before supplying it to the national grid. The suspension of operations at either terminal can therefore affect overall gas availability.
With maintenance work underway at Summit LNG Terminal, consumers in different areas may experience lower gas pressure over the next few days, although nationwide supply will continue, Petrobangla said.