Pakistan Imports First LNG Cargo in Weeks in Relief for Energy Crisis

Pakistan has welcomed the first LNG cargo in almost two months as an LNG carrier docked at the GasPort terminal in what would be the first relief to the energy crisis in the country.

The Denmark-flagged LNG carrier Seapeak Magellan departed from Sabine Pass in the United States on March 31, and arrived at the Port Qasim in Pakistan on April 30, data on MarineTraffic showed.

The 140,000 cubic meters of LNG has started feeding re-gasified LNG (RLNG) into the national gas network, local outlet The News reported on Friday.

The cargo was arranged by French supermajor TotalEnergies, which is one of the biggest LNG traders in the world, at a price of $18.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), according to The News.

This was the first shipment of LNG to Pakistan since another U.S.-origin cargo arrived in Pakistan in the early days of the war in the Middle East.

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Pakistan is meanwhile looking to have four Qatari LNG cargoes stranded in the Persian Gulf delivered, but the situation at the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile with few passages of oil and LNG tankers in recent days.

Spot LNG prices in Asia have surged since the war in Iran trapped all Middle Eastern LNG supply from Qatar and the UAE behind the Strait of Hormuz. Still, Pakistan has moved to tap the spot market for the first time in nearly three years as the lack of fixed-term Qatari supply has triggered a power crisis and widespread outages.

Pakistan has relied on Qatar’s term LNG supply for years, but the war in the Middle East has led to the shutdown of Qatari LNG production and exports.

Despite the high spot LNG prices for Asia, Pakistan appears to have no choice but to tap the spot market for the first time since 2023 as the energy crisis has intensified in recent weeks with power outages and fuel rationing.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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