Pakistan Takes Foreign LNG Supplier to Court For Breaching Contract

Pakistan has sued a foreign company for defaulting on its 5-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) agreement, resulting in millions of dollars in damages for the government. On Pakistan’s request, the International Arbitration Court in London was scheduled to hear the matter next month, reported a national daily. The identity of the foreign company hasn’t been revealed yet but the lawsuit comes after it failed to deliver LNG shipments as negotiated and instead sold them to richer countries at a bigger profit. Due to the cancellation of LNG cargoes, Pakistan was forced to purchase the most expensive LNG in the region. The contract with the foreign company was worth 11.62 percent of the Brent price and was good until 2022. Two additional foreign companies had also promised ten shipments each but broke the terms of their deals. Pakistan was in talks with a second foreign company to provide the canceled cargoes, which had a 15-year LNG arrangement with Pakistan until 2032 at 12.14 percent of the Brent price. Islamabad hasn’t yet sued this one.