By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan LNG Ltd. invited international suppliers Saturday to bid for two spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas, the second tender in a week, as deliveries from its primary supplier Qatar stayed blocked by continued restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The tender seeks two cargoes of 140,000 cubic meters each — roughly 100 million standard cubic feet per day — on a delivered-ex-ship basis at Port Qasim in Karachi. Delivery windows are May 12-16 and May 24-28, with bids due by May 11, according to the document posted by the state-owned buyer.
The move shows Pakistan’s urgent need to bridge supply gaps ahead of peak summer power demand, even as US-Iran diplomacy shows tentative signs of progress that could eventually unblock Qatari shipments. Officials say the country cannot afford to wait.
Pakistan’s energy ministry had rejected all offers from an earlier tender floated May 6, betting that easing regional tensions would lower spot prices and allow long-term contracts from Qatar to resume. Those bids ranged from $16.98 per million British thermal units from TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd. to $18.58 from OQ Trading, with BP Singapore Pte offering $17.28 and others including Vitol Bahrain, SOCAR Trading and PetroChina International Singapore filling out the list.
Continued uncertainty over the Qatari volumes has now forced authorities back into the spot market. The disruptions trace to the Iran conflict that erupted Feb. 28 after joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of global oil and LNG trade. US President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports and a ceasefire last month, yet sporadic exchanges of fire have persisted.
At least two Qatari cargoes are already loaded and waiting for passage, according to a senior energy ministry official who asked not to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak publicly. Pakistan’s gas demand has climbed sharply as summer electricity consumption surges, he said. “It’s a wait-and-watch situation,” the official told Arab News. “Power generation alone demands four to five cargoes per month while we need two monthly cargoes for our industry.”
Pakistan’s power output rose 6% in March to 8,939 gigawatt-hours from a year earlier, driven by seasonal demand, according to Karachi-based JS Global Capital Ltd. In that month, 24% of electricity came from hydropower, 31% from coal, 22% from nuclear, 17% from gas (including 6% from imported LNG) and 1% from furnace oil, the firm’s report showed.
Power Minister Awais Leghari has attributed a 3,400-megawatt shortfall in generation capacity to the closure of five LNG-fired plants. In March, as the conflict disrupted regional energy flows, Pakistan’s LNG imports fell 69% to $70.2 million from a year earlier, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics show. The ministry official said the country will likely require four to five cargoes a month through August. Whether Pakistan keeps tapping the spot market or holds out for Qatar will depend on developments in the Strait of Hormuz, said Asif Inam, chairman of Sui Southern Gas Co. “If the Strait of Hormuz opens, then we don’t need to go for spot cargoes,” Inam said.
Energy consultant Muhammad Saad Ali said prolonged disruption leaves Pakistan with little choice. “We are not getting LNG from our main supplier Qatar,” he said. “Naturally, we will look for any offers in the spot market.” Some re-gasified volumes can be replaced with domestic gas production, he added, but imports will still be required to cover the balance. The tender comes as traders monitor U.S.-Iran talks for any short-term deal that might ease tensions and reopen the vital shipping lane. For now, however, Pakistan’s immediate priority is securing fuel to keep the lights on through the summer.
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