ISLAMABAD: After a gap of 28 months, state-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Friday secured three bids at $17.997 to $18.88 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for delivery between April 27 and May 8. A total of four bids were received and three were declared the lowest.

For the first delivery window of April 27-30, TotalEnergies submitted the lowest bid of $18.88 per mmBtu. Vitol Bahrain’s bid of $18.54 was declared the lowest for the May 1-7 window, while OQ Trading was declared the lowest bidder at $17.997 per mmBtu for delivery between May 8 and 14.

A day earlier, PLL had floated urgent tenders for the import of three LNG cargos for delivery between April 27 and May 8 amid rising temperatures and power shortfall. The company had set April 24 (Friday) as the deadline for bids to be opened the same day, given the emergent needs to meet power demand, which was short of supply by more than 4,500MW in peak, resulting in six to seven hours of loadshedding.

The tender came following Qatar’s reluctance to send LNG-loaded cargoes stranded in the Gulf due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar’s three LNG cargoes meant for Pakistan had earlier returned from the vital waterway due to security reasons.

Four bids received, three declared lowest

All three cargoes will carry 140,000 cubic meters of LNG delivered ex-ship (DES). Each cargo to Pakistan of this size typically means around 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).

Last month, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had notified a massive 19-22 per cent increase in the price of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to $12.50-$14 per mmBtu for sales at the distribution stage by the two Sui gas companies for the month of March.

This was mainly because of an increase in terminal charges amid lower import molecules and a minor increase in import price, the dataset from the authority showed.

The basket RLNG price was based on a total of only two cargoes in March against eight cargoes each in February and March 2026 due to a force majeure declared by Qatar after its gas facilities came under attack and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Both cargoes were imported under two LNG contracts between PSO and Qatar Gas at an average of about $7.68 per mmBtu (DES price), compared to $7.45 per mmBtu last month, but still significantly lower than $8.9 per mmBtu in March last year.

PLL, one of the public sector entities responsible for LNG imports, did not import any cargo last month. In fact, it had imported one cargo a couple of months ago after a gap of almost a year at the rate of $7.65 per mmBtu through its old contract with a private entity.

PLL, established almost a decade ago for LNG imports, had become redundant and a net burden on public money as it could not import energy over the past year despite its executives and board of directors enjoying hefty remunerations and associated perks and privileges. It had last floated an LNG tender in December 2023 for delivery in January 2024, but later cancelled the tender.

Facing criticism over loadshedding even before the summer months, the Power Division placed an order with the Petroleum Division to arrange around 400mmcfd of LNG for power generation, amid hopes for the opening of international supply routes.

LNG imports had stopped early last month after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israel attacks on Iran. Last month, Qatar declared force majeure on all its global LNG contracts, including those with Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026