MUSCAT: OQ Trading International, the energy trading arm of Oman’s OQ Group, has strengthened its position in Bangladesh’s energy market with the signing of the country’s first-ever short-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement. The landmark deal marks a strategic shift in Bangladesh’s LNG sourcing approach, aimed at ensuring greater energy security and reducing exposure to the volatile spot market. According to Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), the agreement represents a critical step in enhancing supply stability during peak demand periods.
RPGCL, a fully owned subsidiary of Petrobangla and the government’s LNG importing agency, is the official partner of OQ Trading in Bangladesh.
The newly signed Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) allows Bangladesh to import one LNG cargo per month from August 2025 through December 2026, totalling 17 cargoes. This deal marks Bangladesh’s first short-term LNG arrangement with any global supplier and complements its existing long-term contracts.
Under the agreement, Bangladesh will receive five LNG cargoes in 2025 and 12 in 2026. The SPA also introduces a new pricing mechanism, shifting from the traditional Brent crude-linked pricing model to one based on the Japan Korea Marker (JKM), which is widely used for LNG deliveries to Northeast Asia. The country will pay a premium of 15 cents per MMBtu above the JKM benchmark, offering an alternative structure to previous negotiations where suppliers demanded up to 17 per cent of Brent plus fixed charges.
OQ Trading has long been a key LNG supplier to Bangladesh. Its first long-term agreement, signed in 2018, remains in effect through 2029, providing up to 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year. A second long-term contract, signed in 2023, will run from 2026 to 2035. Under this contract, Bangladesh is set to import 250,000 tonnes of LNG in 2026, 1 million tonnes in both 2027 and 2028 and 1.5 million tonnes annually from 2029 onwards. As of June 2025, Bangladesh has imported 124 LNG cargoes from OQ Trading, totalling around 7.74 million tonnes.
The latest short-term deal is designed to reduce Bangladesh’s dependency on high-priced spot cargoes, which are frequently used to meet surges in demand — especially in summer and during Ramadhan. Spot market offers often come with hefty premiums due to long validity periods and perceived payment risks, with mark-ups sometimes exceeding $1.50 per MMBtu over JKM.
This strip contract with OQ Trading provides Bangladesh with a fixed premium pricing structure and shields the supplier from market risks associated with fluctuating prices and tender uncertainties. It also offers much-needed breathing room ahead of increased deliveries under future long-term supply deals.
Bangladesh is projected to import around 52 spot cargoes in 2025 — the highest volume for any single year. The agreement with OQ Trading is expected to ease that pressure by securing a portion of supply under predictable pricing terms.
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