After a gap of almost 12 months, Pakistan has again failed to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the spot market with no supplier offering cargoes, reported Bloomberg.
The state-owned Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) did not get even a single offer for its massive LNG cargo tender. This indicates both the intensity of the domestic energy crisis and suppliers’ unwillingness to supply to a country in the grip of an economic crisis.
This comes after last week Bloomberg reported that several foreign banking institutions were refusing to accept letters of credit from Pakistan to acquire LNG, making suppliers reluctant to submit their offers.
Pakistan’s failure to purchase gas will likely worsen the country’s energy shortfalls, escalating blackouts and limiting gasoline supply to industrial consumers.
Apart from the looming threat of an energy crisis in the making, the country is facing a falling currency, political uncertainty, and the growing threat of a sovereign default.
The International Monetary Fund recently criticized the government’s budget as insufficient to achieve the aims of its bailout facility, indicating that the program will not be completed on time i.e. June 30, 2023.
