Pakistan LNG says Trafigura, Gunvor lowest bidders in LNG tender

SINGAPORE/LONDON: Pakistan LNG said on Thursday commodity traders Trafigura and Gunvor had made the lowest bids in a tender to supply three cargoes of liquefied natural gas between late January and late February.

It said Trafigura made the lowest bid to supply a cargo on Jan. 21-22 at 14.4 percent of Brent crude oil prices, Gunvor's bid for the Feb. 3-4 cargo was at 15.8 percent and Trafigura again bid the lowest for Feb. 21-22 at 14.8 percent.

Vitol Bahrain had also bid to supply two cargoes but at higher prices, according to a Pakistan LNG commercial evaluation document. BB Energy had sent in bidding documents but they did not technically qualify.

The prices, expressed in the document as crude oil slope or the numerical percentage of Brent crude price, are a valuable pointer for the opaque spot LNG market.

A cargo priced at 14.4 percent of Brent is about $8.66 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu). Spot Asian LNG prices for January were heard at $9.80 per mmBtu last week although they have since fallen to closer to the $9.00 per mmBtu mark.

Pakistan LNG launched a tender for the three cargoes in November, the first for LNG since June.