KARACHI: Pakistan LNG Limited on Wednesday issued a tender seeking two spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery in June, with an unusually compressed timeline that gives suppliers less than 24 hours to submit offers.
The state-owned importer is requesting one cargo for delivery June 13–14 and a second for June 20–21, according to document.
Each cargo is specified at 140,000 cubic meters, plus or minus 10%. Bidders must offer a fixed price in U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, with no constants or conditional pricing permitted. The allowed laytime is 48 hours.
Deliveries are designated for the Pakistan Gas Port Consortium Limited terminal at Port Qasim in Karachi. All LNG carriers must comply with Port Qasim Authority requirements, and bidders are responsible for verifying current port parameters.
Pakistan is facing a daily electricity shortfall of about 4,000 MW, largely due to a Qatari force majeure that shut down regasified LNG-powered units. Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari noted that LNG imports have been disrupted by Middle East events.
While spot LNG purchases are an option, they would be much more expensive, around $22–$25/MMBtu compared to ~$16/MMBtu for contractual cargoes, potentially burdening consumers.
Industry analysts expect persistent shortages due to restricted LNG, reduced hydro generation, and limited water resources. The government is also rationing fuel oil-based power due to high costs. LNG imports fell sharply to $70 million in March from $226 million in March 2025.
Pakistan typically imports about 9-10 LNG cargoes each month from Qatar under long-term LNG purchase contracts.
LNG imports in the nine months ended March 31 fell to $1.884 billion from $2.682 billion during the same period a year earlier, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed April 16.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to QatarEnergy’s LNG exports have significantly altered Pakistan’s gas balance, transforming a once-oversupplied market into one now supply-constrained, analysts at S&P Global CERA said in a report March 31.
A brokerage analyst called spot LNG a short-term lifeline but said long-term contracts are a smarter strategy. Meanwhile, the power division plans daily load management of about 2.25 hours during peak times to avoid using costly fuels and raising tariffs.
Pakistan LNG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Government Holdings Private Limited and operates under the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division. The company manages the country’s LNG supply chain from procurement to end users.
