ISLAMABAD: International dealers, including government agencies, have refused to supply gas to the Pakistani government due to high LNG prices in the international market, leading to fears of a further escalation of the gas crisis from next month.
Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) had earlier announced to import two cargoes on 28th February last year for importing gas. Proposals were opened on 28th December 2020 and the results were announced in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.
Successful bidders were awarded contracts on 7th January 2021. The contract for the mid-February cargo was awarded to SOCAR Trading UK, while the contract for the last week of February was awarded to the lowest bidding firm, but by then gas had become more expensive in the international market, prompting both firms to bid and refusing to bring LNG at prices.
However, PPL then approached the second and third bidder firms and they too refused to bring gas at the prices offered by them. It is noteworthy that as LNG has become more expensive in the global market, state-owned enterprises are also refusing to import gas. PLL has used all the tactics including confiscation of collateral of the companies participating in the bidding which are proving to be useless, no Pakistan is ready to bring gas.
Pakistan has been importing an average of 7.75 cargoes for the last four years for February. Now PS will import less cargo while PLL will import two cargoes. If gas is purchased in an emergency, it will have to be purchased at the current market rate.
