Pakistan issued a tender for the supply of 10 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes between the start of October and the end of December, Pakistan LNG documents seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday. The tender is likely to be welcomed by the spot market, which has been weighed down by ample global supplies, with cargoes trading at below $4 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week for the first time in years.
State-owned Pakistan LNG sought four cargoes in October, two for November and four more cargoes for December, with bids due by September 5, the documents showed.
Pakistan LNG last issued a short-term LNG supply tender in May, when it sought five cargoes for the end of July to September. The offers came in at 7.13% to 8.54% of Brent crude or around $4.4 to $5.3 per mmBtu at the prices of that day. It also issued one of the largest tenders ever in June for 240 cargoes over a 10-year period which closed last month, but contrary to its normal procedures, it has not yet announced the lowest bidders.
Sources told Reuters that Italian oil major Eni, China's overseas energy unit PetroChina, the trading arm of Azeri state oil company SOCAR and commodities trader Trafigura bid for that mega-tender. Pakistan's LNG tenders are keenly watched because prices are normally revealed, shedding light on an otherwise opaque market. For the latest tender, the delivery windows are: October 1-2, October 11-12, October 16-17, October 28-29, November 12-13, November 30, December 10-11, December 16-17, December 21-22, December 26-27.