The government is considering signing long-term sale and purchase agreements on LNG import to reduce its reliance on spot purchases. Currently, Pakistan has a single government-to-government import agreement with Qatar, while Pakistan LNG Ltd has a short-term contract with Gunvor and a longer-term contract with Eni. These contracts meet some - but not all - of the country's gas demand while Pakistan relies on spot purchases to make up the shortfall.
Source said that Islamabad is currently negotiating contracts on the basis of intergovernmental agreements with dozens of companies from around the world and plans to conclude two or three of them. Pakistan LNG Ltd has long-term contracts for the annual supply of 8 million tons of LNG with Qatar as well as Gunvor, Eni and Shell international traders. Experts estimate that in the next five years, Pakistan's needs for LNG will grow to 30 million tons.
The incumbent government signed inter-governmental agreements on LNG supplies with Malaysia, Russia, Italy, Oman, and Azerbaijan. Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) is negotiating the supply of liquefied natural gas from State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The agreement was signed in 2017. Sources said the price negotiating committee (PNC) has been constituted with the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet to discuss LNG pricing issues between PLL and SOCAR.
Pakistan has nominated Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan LNG Limited, Pakistan LNG Terminal Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, and Pakistan Petroleum Limited for negotiating a sale and purchase agreement on petroleum products, LNG supply and establishment of LNG terminals, while Azerbaijan has nominated SOCAR for the purpose.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.