In a bid to secure the future supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Pakistan is aiming to sign long-term LNG contracts, reported Bloomberg.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is overseeing the energy sector, has revealed that the government is planning to float a tender to purchase one LNG cargo per month for 10 to 15 years. He added that the government is still waiting for the right time to issue the tender and is using this time to gauge the response and pricing.
Abbasi informed that the government was in contact with the Middle Eastern countries including Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, for a long-term contract.
Pakistan last week said it’s not ruling out a potential gas supply agreement with Russia.
Pakistan has been severely hit by the rising international fuel prices as it relied heavily on imported LNG for power generation. Loadshedding has become the only way out for the government to contain the energy crisis.
Abbasi, who headed the Energy Ministry before becoming Prime Minister in 2017, had penned long-term deals with Qatar, Eni SpA, and Gunvor Group in 2016 and 2017.
However, Eni and Gunvor have canceled several scheduled cargoes to Pakistan in the last year which has intensified the country’s fuel crisis.
backed out of the agreement by canceling several cargoes to Pakistan last year. Both companies had to pay a 30 percent penalty on the cost of the shipment due to the cancellation, a condition that was part of the contract in case of non-delivery.
Abbasi stated that the new contracts would also include the 30 percent clause related to cancellation. He said that Pakistan was open to signing a 30-year contract to secure its future energy needs.
