ISLAMABAD: State-run Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) on Wednesday floated urgent tenders for the import of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery between May 12-14 and May 24-26 amid rising temperatures and power shortfall.

The company set Thursday (May 7) as the deadline for bids, which will be opened the same day, given the urgent need to meet the power demand expected to spike again as the cargo imported in the last week of April has been consumed.

The tender comes after the authorities’ expectations that tensions would ease and the Strait of Hormuz would reopen did not materialise. Last month, PLL had rejected two bids for the same delivery period but accepted one cargo at $18.4 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

Qatar, a long-term LNG supplier to Pakistan, had been reluctant to despatch LNG cargoes stranded in the Gulf amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, three LNG cargoes from Qatar bound for Pakistan were turned back from the strait for security reasons.

Both tenders require 140,000 cubic metres of LNG to be delivered on an ex-ship (DES) basis. Each cargo of this capacity for Pakistan typically translates into around 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas supply.

In April, 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 sale at the distribution stage by the two Sui gas companies for March.

The increase was mainly due to higher terminal charges amid lower import volumes and a minor rise in import prices, data from the authority showed.

The basket RLNG price was based on only two cargoes in March, compared to eight cargoes each in February and March, due to a force majeure declared by Qatar.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026