LNG

State-owned Pakistan LNG has purchased a cargo for late July delivery at nearly $21.88 per million British thermal units on Monday, its highest price since 2022, Bloomberg reported. In August, Pakistan seeks to buy more cargoes.

State-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd has issued a spot tender seeking a (LNG) cargo for delivery in late July, as Islamabad takes precautions for a longer disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz from its main supplier, Qatar. In addition, Pakistan prepares to buy up to six LNG cargoes in August.

Pakistan said it was seeking a third long-term liquefied natural gas supply contract with Qatar possibly involving deferred payments as the Asian nation adjusts to higher global gas prices and record spot cargo values.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi who is also Chief Executive of QatarEnergy, met two visiting Pakistani minister last week in Doha.

They were Pakistan’s Defence Minister and the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik.

A statement from the Petroleum Ministry’s office said the discussions in Qatar had covered the enhancement of cooperation in the field of energy between Qatar and Pakistan.

Petroleum Minister Malik said the Pakistani government and Qatar were exploring different “innovative” pricing and supply strategies.

“Deferred payment would be enormously beneficial for Pakistan in the way of cash flows, but that is not the only discussion that we are having,” explained Malik in a statement back in Pakistan.

Existing agreements

Pakistan already has two long-term supply deals with Qatar. The first was signed in 2016 for five cargoes a month, and the second in 2021, under which Pakistan currently gets three monthly shipments.

However, Pakistan’s main cities are suffering power outages as energy procurement is more intermittent because of higher natural gas prices to supply the expanded gas-fired power infrastructure.

Pakistan was looking to secure a new five-year or 10-year LNG supply deal for three monthly cargoes, as well as an additional cargo under an existing deal.

Pakistan imported 8.19 million tonnes of LNG last year, an increase of 10.5 percent on the previous year.

Despite its single-digit volumes, Pakistan is still the sixth-largest LNG importer with plenty of scope for expanding its current two floating facilities at Port Qasim, located to the east of Karachi.

It is behind China, Japan, South Korea, India and Taiwan in the importing ranking and ahead of Thailand.

The biggest supplier last year was Qatar with 5.24MT of deliveries and with other suppliers such as the US, Egypt, Angola and the United Arab Emirates supplying volumes of around 500,000 tonnes each.

The Pakistani government's fuel discussions with Qatar come at a time when it is awaiting the release of funds from the International Monetary Fund to help replenish foreign exchange reserves. 

The LNG and energy trading subsidiaries of Eni of Italy, China National Petroleum Corp., Socar of Azerbaijan and global commodities firm Trafigura are among the leading participants in the largest ever tender for 240 cargoes issued by Pakistan and for delivery to a Singapore-owned import facility near Karachi.

Qatar Petroleum President and Chief Executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi has held talks in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan centering on more liquefied natural gas supplies for the Asian nation as it plans a third import facility.

Qatar Gas Transport Co. (QGTC), the LNG shipping company of Qatar, has signed an agreement with US floating import project company Excelerate Energy to form a joint venture firm and as a start has acquired a 55 percent interest in a floating storage regasification unit.

May 17 (LNGJ) - The 148,300 cubic metres capacity vessel “LNG Ondo” will deliver a shipment on May 19 to the Pakistani Port Qasim import facilities east of Karachi from the Nigerian export plant on Bonny Island, according to shipping data. The 210,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex carrier “Al Khattiya” will deliver a cargo on May 22 to Thailand’s Map Ta Phut import terminal from Ras Laffan in Qatar. The 160,400 cubic metres capacity carrier “Cubal” will unload a cargo on May 24 at the Indian Hazira terminal, owned by Shell India, from the Angola export plant at Soyo in southwest Africa. The 173,400 cubic metres capacity vessel “Ribera del Duero Knutsen” will deliver a shipment on May 28 to the Chinese terminal at Ningbo from the US Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana, owned by Cheniere Energy. The 216,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex carrier “Al Thumama” will unload a shipment from Qatargas on June 3 at the South Korean Pyeongtaek terminal.

BW Group of Singapore and Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. have formed an ownership joint venture for the floating storage and regasification unit “BW Integrity”, the second floating import facility deployed for Pakistan and giving Mitsui an entry into the FSRU business.

Gas Natural Fenosa, the Spanish utility and LNG market participant, submitted the lowest bid of just over $9 per million British thermal units after six companies took part in a tender for the supply of cargoes to Pakistan LNG for the delayed second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) import project for Port Qasim near Karachi.

Italian energy company Eni will supply LNG to Pakistan under a long-term contract to a new floating storage and regasification unit to be moored at Port Qasim.