Pakistan Seeks One Additional LNG Shipment To Avoid Winter Disaster

Pakistan is looking to buy an additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment for January 2024 to compensate for domestic fuel production woes and help ease its natural gas shortage this winter. According to Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), bids are invited from reputed international suppliers for the supply of one LNG cargo on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis at Port Qasim, Karachi, Pakistan. “Households could face 18-hour daily gas shortages this winter if Pakistan can’t secure more fuel,” Bloomberg reporter Stephen Stapczynski said in a tweet today. PLL said in an advert that the bid must be submitted on or before 1200 hours on 24 November 2023. The bids will be opened the same day at 1230 hours PST as per PPRA rules. Notably, the fresh tender comes as Pakistan struggles to manage its fuel inventory for January 2024 after failing to confirm shipment from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on a deal that was agreed recently. It bears mentioning that Pakistan has struggled to procure the required volume of LNG to meet its needs since the Russia-Ukraine war. The resultant gas shortages have increased in various sectors and households since then, creating more problems than the country can handle.