Pakistan is fishing for LNG suppliers again. But why does no one want to bite?

The news stories hit like clockwork every year. As the winters approach, different industries start complaining that there is not enough gas to run their operations resulting in reduced output. Countrywide blackouts ensue. Gas load shedding for domestic consumers makes the headline and there is a sense of doom and gloom. 

Whether this will happen again this year became a question last week after it emerged that Pakistan failed to receive any bids in its latest attempt to procure liquified natural gas (LNG) from the spot market. Pakistan has not tried to procure LNG for a while. So what gives now, and why is the country finding it hard to buy the product? 

The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), a government subsidiary that manages the entire LNG supply chain from procurement to distribution to the end user, issued a tender on June 13, seeking six cargoes for delivery in October and December. The quantity sought was 140,000 cubic meters of LNG per cargo. 

The tender's outcome was keenly watched as it was issued almost a year after a previously unsuccessful attempt in July 2022 when the PLL received zero bids. However, shortly after the new tender closed on June 20, the PLL shared that once again, no bids were received.