Qatar bails out Pakistan by deferring 5 LNG cargoes to 2026

ISLAMABAD: Qatar has deferred the arrival of five LNG cargoes to 2026 that were to reach in 2025 to bail out Pakistan facing an LNG glut.

This year the line pack pressure increased many times due to LNG glut, putting the country’s national pipeline network in jeopardy because of massive drop in gas consumption across the country.

“Qatar has accommodated Pakistan’s request, which is why authorities finalised annual delivery plan of LNG cargos for 2025,” a senior official of the Ministry of Energy confirmed to The News. “Pakistan earlier placed the request with Qatar seeking rescheduling of five LNG cargoes that were to be imported in 2025. Now, the country would get those in 2026 under the flexible clause of two agreements,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his recent visit to Qatar, reportedly raised the issue of deferment of five RLNG cargoes.

The RLNG consumption, he said, has started tumbling by 150 million cubic feet in a month, which means 18 LNG cargoes in 2025 would turn additional because of lower GDP growth in the country and reduced industrial activities. However, out of the 18, the government has the space under two GtG agreements to ask Qatar to shift only five LNG cargos to 2026 under the flexible clause.

Pakistan imports 108 LNG cargoes from Qatar under two GtG agreements in one year. Under the agreements, it imports nine LNG vessels a month (five cargoes a month under 13.37pc of Brent and 4 cargoes under 10.2pc of Brent). One cargo is imported through a term agreement with ENI. “This is how the country imports 10 LNG cargoes a month,” he said.

The authorities are also trying to firm up the plan on how to deal with 13 more LNG cargoes which have become additional on account of reduced RLNG consumption. The cargoes will arrive in Pakistan in 2025.

However, under the agreements, the official said, there is no clause under which 13 more cargoes could be halted by Qatar as a supplier or the supplier allows Pakistan to sell 13 cargoes in the open market. “If Qatar sells the LNG cargo destined to reach Pakistan in the open market below the price agreed with Pakistan, the loss to Qatar would be paid by PSO on every cargo.” The authorities may not ask for rescheduling or to halt 13 cargoes by Qatar, he added.

To a question, the official said the authorities have completed a plan for the coming winter season. Under the plan, 12 LNG cargoes would be available during the peak winter season — December 2024 and January 2025.

Ten cargoes have been arranged from Qatar for December and two from ENI. For January 2025, he said, Qatar would provide 11 LNG cargoes and ENI one. “We have readjusted cargoes to meet the peak winter demand, as Pakistan LNG Limited managed to shift its one cargo from ENI to December 2024, which was to arrive in September 2024,” he said.

Only six cargoes have been managed from Qatar for the current month of November against nine cargoes. One cargo from Qatar has been shifted to December and two to January 2025, he said.