(April 23): Pakistan is looking to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the expensive spot market for the first time in over two years, as the government rushes to ease an energy shortfall triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
State-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd released a rare purchase tender for three LNG shipments for delivery from late April to mid-May, according to a document on its website. Suppliers are requested to submit offers by Friday, the notice said.
Pakistan, which procured nearly all of its LNG from Qatar last year, hasn’t received a shipment since early-March, shortly after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran and Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar was also forced to shut the world’s largest LNG export facility due to an Iranian attacks and cancel deliveries to its customers.
The gas shortage has triggered widespread power outages across Pakistan, posing a significant threat to the country’s economic growth. The move to buy spot cargoes come as LNG supplies remain trapped in the Persian Gulf. Hormuz — a vital waterway for about a fifth of global LNG supply — has effectively been shut to traffic of the fuel since the war began.
Four LNG tankers loaded in Qatar over a month ago and currently in the Gulf are signalling Pakistan as their next destination, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Three of the vessels approached the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend before turning back, and are now once again near Qatari waters, the data shows.
Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy
