KARACHI: Pakistan LNG Limited has issued a fresh tender on Wednesday to procure a spot LNG cargo for delivery between September 8 and 12, after rejecting the sole bid received for an earlier delivery window as too expensive.
The state-owned buyer turned down an offer from BP Singapore at $26.969 per million British thermal units for a 140,000-cubic-meter cargo originally sought for delivery at Port Qasim between September 4 and 8. A senior petroleum ministry official said the price was considered too high compared with the prevailing international market rate of about $23.18 per MMBtu.
The fresh tender comes as Pakistan faces growing pressure to secure additional LNG supplies amid prolonged power outages across the country.
The government turned to the international spot market after an LNG cargo from Qatar, originally scheduled for delivery on August 25-26, failed to materialize. Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran conflict have also created uncertainty over LNG availability and shipping from the Gulf.
The rejection could add pressure on Pakistan’s power sector if alternative supplies are not secured, potentially leading to an increase in load shedding hours, according to Bazif Memon, a research analyst at Optimus Capital Management. However, he noted that electricity demand is expected to remain relatively subdued this month as parts of urban Pakistan are still experiencing monsoon season.
Pakistan holds two long-term LNG supply agreements with Qatar, one for 15 years at 13.37% of Brent and another for 10 years at 10.2% of Brent. The sharp reduction in contractual LNG availability has pushed Pakistan toward greater reliance on spot procurement, exposing its power sector to volatile international prices.
Pakistan imported 82 LNG cargoes in the fiscal year ended June 30, down about 30% from 117 cargoes the year before, according to data from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and AKD Securities. The drop also lowered Pakistan’s LNG import bill, which fell 36% to $2.221 billion in fiscal 2026 from $3.476 billion a year earlier.
