240 LNG shipments: financial bids for supply to open on January 19

Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) is to open financial bids for the supply of 240 shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Jan 19, while contracts to successful bidders will be awarded on Jan 31, it is learnt.
Reliable sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told Business Recorder on Saturday the state-owned PLL issued two separate tenders for the supply of 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of LNG and in response a total 14 global LNG suppliers submitted their bids to be completed on Jan 31.
Sources maintained that PLL on Dec 20 opened technical bidding of two tenders issued last month. The mid-term tender covers a period of five years and calls for 60 shipments, while the long-term tender is for 15 years and 180 shipments.
According to PLL officials, they have received a total 14 bids and the financial bids of which will be opened on Jan 19, 2017. The company is all set to complete the entire process of awarding the contract to winning companies in March 2016, they said.
"The current biddings are for the import of 200mmcfd of LNG, while the Port Qasim LNG terminal with a capacity to handle 600mmcfd of LNG is being built by Pakistan Gas Port and it will go online in June 2017," the officials said, adding the company will soon issue fresh tenders for the supply of another 400mmcfd of LNG.
The sources said that the country is working on commercial as well as government-to-government LNG supply deals, adding that after finalising current process it will issue more tenders in coming week.
Pakistan is currently buying LNG from Qatar under the long-term deal signed earlier this year. Also, it is buying the fuel from Gunvor that has received a contract for providing 60 ships. Total supply stands at 300mmcfd from Qatar and 100mmcfd from Gunvor. The price for both supply sources was 13.37 per cent of the Brent oil rate.
Shipments, under both tenders, are to be delivered on a DES (delivered ex-ship) basis to the LNG terminal operated by Pakistan Gas Port Consortium at Port Qasim, the company said. The start of the deliveries is set for July 2017, with a nominal cargo capacity set at 140,000-cbm, according to the documents.
Major portion of imported LNG is being supplied to gas-based power plants that were either lying idle due to non-availability of gas or burning costly form of fuel to produce expensive electricity.
Pakistan has ploughed billions of dollars into LNG infrastructure, including the construction of a second LNG import terminal and pipelines linking Karachi to Lahore in Punjab which is now expected to be inaugurated in February.
The current crop of tenders is a small part of Pakistan's projected demand as the country works to bring two more import terminals online within the next couple of years, making it a potent force in global LNG markets with a total capacity to import 2.4bcfd of LNG.