Pakistan LNG demand could triple over next 3-5 years: official

SINGAPORE: Pakistan's demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) could more than triple in the next three to five years, the chief executive of Pakistan LNG said on Wednesday.

Last year, Pakistan imported nearly 7 tonnes of LNG, data from Refinitiv Eikon shows. This year, that could grow to as high as 15 million tonnes and to up to 25 million to 30 million tonnes over the next three to five years, said Adnan Gilani, managing director and chief executive of Pakistan LNG.

Pakistan LNG is a state-owned company that buys LNG from the international market to supply to the domestic market.

Both of the country's existing LNG terminals are currently nearly fully utilised. Another two are expected to announce a final investment decision this year.

Pakistan's two import terminals have a regas capacity of 1.2 billion to 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, or about 9 million to 10 million tonnes of LNG a year, according to Gilani's presentation at the LNGA 2019 conference in Singapore.

Pakistan is expected to negotiate a few more long-term contracts to import LNG into the country, Gilani said.

Pakistan is facing a serious energy crisis with repeated blackouts and gas supply outages that led to the sacking of the heads of two of its main gas distribution utilities in January.