This financial expert told us about the Pakistan, Qatar LNG deal weeks ago

Pakistan has signed a new 10-year deal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar with shipments starting in January 2022.

The development which was announced by the government on Friday came as a surprise to many, however, economist Ali Khizar who heads BR Research, the research wing of Pakistan’s premier financial daily Business Recorder foretold about the deal more than three weeks prior to the official announcement.

“Good news from Qatar is expected in February,” said Khizar in a tweet post dated February 3, 2021, he said that the deal would be a long-term contract for 2 cargos per month at 20-25 percent discount to the existing deal.

Khizar was replying to a tweet from renowned journalist Najam Sethi, after Sethi said that Qatar is ‘very angry’ with the incumbent government for ‘maligning its gas deal and international reputation.’

Meanwhile, the deal struck with Qatar Petroleum will be for the supply of up to 3 million tonnes annually, with two cargoes a month initially, increasing to four a month in three years, the prime minister's special adviser on petroleum Nadeem Babar told a news conference on Friday.

It was told that the shipments under the deal will be 10.2% slope of Brent, which as per Babar was more than 30% cheaper than contracts with Gunvor, from whom Pakistan had been receiving one cargo a month.

Prices are expressed as a "slope" against Brent crude oil prices, meaning a percentage of that price, and are typically a pointer for the opaque spot LNG market.

Babar said one agreement with Gunvor had expired in December last year while another would expire in about 14 months and that the Qatar supply would replace them. He termed the agreement with Qatar the "lowest publicly disclosed contract in the world".