Pakistan has awarded a major tender to supply about 60 liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments for the next five years to commodity trader Gunvor while Italy’s Eni bid to supply the country with LNG over a 15-year period is still being analyzed, a top official source said.
Gunvor supplied the lowest bid, expressed as a percentage of a barrel of crude oil, of 11.6247 per cent, the source said. Eni, which won the 15-year tender to supply approximately 180 cargoes, entered a winning bid of 12.29 per cent of a barrel of crude oil, he added.
Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abassi confirmed that the tender was awarded to Gunvor and contract would be signed in next few days. He said the contract would result in a saving of $ 2.5 million per shipment as compared to deal signed with Qatar, a year back. It will help inject 100 mmcfd gas in the system.
Last year, Pakistan LNG launched a five-year supply tender and a 15-year tender to purchase 240 shipments of LNG. The country has already spent billions of dollars into LNG infrastructure, including the construction of a second LNG import terminal and pipelines linking Karachi with Lahore in the Punjab region, the nation’s industrial heartland.
Initially a contact for getting 400 mmcfd of gas was signed with Qatar Gas. It has been now enhanced to 600 mmcfd. Pakistan is faced with 4bcfd gas shortage as compared to a similar daily output. The natural gas is main fuel for Pakistan. The decline in gas availability which is used for power generation by the private sector has lead to a 2 per cent decline in GDP over the last decade. These supplies have helped improve gas availability in the country.
