KARACHI: Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), the state-owned gas importer, has floated a new emergency tender to buy a single cargo of liquefied natural gas, the latest in a string of urgent purchases as fighting near the Strait of Hormuz continues to choke off the country’s regular supply routes.
According to a notice published by PLL, bids are being sought from international suppliers for one LNG cargo to be delivered on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis at Port Qasim, Karachi, between 15–16 July 2026. The cargo size is set at 140,000 cubic metres, with a tolerance band spelled out in the bidding documents.
The tender is the government’s latest scramble to plug a supply gap opened up by renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan LNG issued the tender for the July 15-16 delivery after a shipment from Qatar scheduled for this month was cancelled, according to reports.
The move comes as renewed tensions in the Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes, continue to disrupt energy flows through the Gulf.
The Strait is the main artery for Qatari LNG, historically one of Pakistan’s most important suppliers, and any interruption to vessel traffic through the waterway tends to push buyers toward the spot market, where cargoes are pricier and harder to secure on short notice.
An analyst said with Qatari term supply effectively frozen by the regional war, the country turned to alternative sources, including a cargo that arrived in early May aboard a carrier that had sailed all the way from the United States rather than the Gulf.
Pakistan’s most recent spot purchase, made in early July, was priced at roughly double the rate under its standing Qatari contracts, with a cargo sold by TotalEnergies for July delivery at $17.37 per mmBtu. That deal marked the country’s second spot LNG procurement inside two weeks to replace the Qatari volumes still stranded in the Gulf.
The Price Fallout at Home
The cost of this emergency buying is now showing up squarely in domestic energy bills. According to a notification from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the price of Regasified LNG (RLNG) charged to gas distribution companies has risen by close to 15% this month alone — a cumulative jump of roughly 56% since March and about 73% since February.
For Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), which supplies Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, OGRA raised the transmission-stage RLNG price by 14.85%, to $17.94 per mmBtu from $15.62. The distribution-stage price climbed 14.94%, to $19.52 per mmBtu from $16.98.
Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), which serves Sindh and Balochistan, saw an even steeper increase: the transmission-stage price rose 16%, to $16.36 per mmBtu, while the distribution-stage rate went up 16.17%, to $18.64 per mmBtu.
The knock-on effect on electricity generation has been sharp. RLNG-based power generation costs jumped to Rs31 per unit in May, more than double the Rs13.72 per unit recorded in April, a direct reflection of the expensive spot cargoes now feeding the grid. Energy analysts have warned that if spot buying continues at this pace, the pressure on electricity tariffs and overall production costs is likely to build further in the coming months.
