Pakistan Gas port Finds country’s First spot LNG Cargo After a Year
Pakistan Gasport Chairman Iqbal Ahmed has said that it is looking to purchase a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo spot for November, which will be the country’s first contract since June last year. According to the report of the Reuters news agency, Iqbal Ahmed said that Pakistan is interested in acquiring cargo from sellers in the gas ports of Oman, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.
Port Qasim Karachi
He said that we have several countries that have present various options. And we are very satisfy with the information that we have receive today. Pakistan Gasport owns the gas terminal at Karachi Port Qasim. And has the authority to import most of the country’s gas. But LNG imports have historically been facilitate by Pakistan LNG. Which is a state-own utility. is the entity and the same entity. Last bought spot cargo from PetroChina in June 2022.
Private sector in Pakistan
Iqbal Ahmad said that for the first time, cargo will be brought in by the private sector in Pakistan. There was a 12 percent Brent slope price range for one cargo, which works out to about $11 per MM-Btu and a 6 percent discount to the current Asian LNG price of $13.
Price of LNG
He said that if the government or someone else can bring the price of LNG to Brent or lower at 12 percent, there is a market for it, when you cross that barrier, then it’s difficult. Iqbal Ahmed said. He expects Pakistan’s LNG demand to increase from the current 10 to 2 MT to 30 MT in 5 years.
Facing an Economic and Foreign Exchange Crisis
Pakistan is facing an economic and foreign exchange crisis and is facing difficulty in procuring fuel due to rising oil prices in the global market after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. LNG is critical for Pakistan, where natural gas is the third largest source of energy production, while domestic gas reserves are insufficient to meet the electricity demand of a country of over 230 million people, and power outages. The series continues.
Current Economic Difficulties
All the country’s importers are facing rising prices and longer implementation times due to the current economic difficulties and foreign exchange crisis. LNG traders said they could demand a premium for selling to Pakistan because the country currently Has a low credit rating.
Pakistan Gasport
Iqbal Ahmed said that Pakistan Gasport is planning. To avoid the challenge of getting letters of credit from banks. At present with financing with internal funds. He said he plans to use other currencies. Instead of dollars to facilitate payment and to use a semi-barter system.