#Title Summit urges govt not to cancel its FSRU deal

FROM PAGE B1

A performance bond is a bond issued by a bank or other financial institution guaranteeing the fulfilment of a particular contract.

Summit, Petrobangla and Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company had finalised a “Terminal Use Agreement” and “Implementation Agreement”, it said.

The two documents were vetted and approved by the cabinet committee and signed on March 30 this year, said the statement.

“But the date (June 28) fell on a Friday (not a banking day in Bangladesh), the performance bond was delivered on the next possible working day, with acknowledgement by Petrobangla,” said SLNG II.

“Our lawyers have confirmed that SLNG II had not breached any CPs (conditions precedent) of the agreements,” it said.

“Even if any CP was delayed, Petrobangla did not notify SLNG II (about it) within the agreed 30-day window and had therefore deemed the CP as accepted,” it added.

Summit Group is the largest private sector investor in Bangladesh’s energy sector with a proven track record of developing long-term infrastructure projects, said SLNG II.

It urged the government to uphold the sanctity of contracts and to ensure that investors’ rights are protected and treated fairly and equitably.

The statement said the last government took a strategic decision to make a transition from coal-fired power generation to natural gas, a cleaner energy source, in late 2020.

Following the decision, Summit Group submitted a proposal October 11, 2021 to implement an FSRU on a “Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer” (BOOT) basis, it said.

The proposal was approved on June 14, 2023, followed by two years of extensive negotiations and consultations with international law firms to address the contractual and technical challenges, it added.

In addition, a long-term “Sale and Purchase Agreement” was signed to supply 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, starting in October 2026.

“To fulfil the initial conditions precedent of the agreements, SLNG II has committed to invest approximately $15 million to implement the country’s third FSRU,” reads the press release.