4th LNG cargo due in May diverted to int’l market

ISLAMABAD: The government has managed to divert fourth LNG cargo from ENI – an Italian company – to the international market, which was due in May and endeavours are also under way for the diversion of another cargo due in June, a senior official at the Energy Ministry told The News.

Earlier, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) diverted three LNG cargoes which were due in February, March and April --all from ENI. “We are also working to divert the LNG cargo which is due in June. This is being done because of the demand that SNGPL placed in its letter written on January 21, 2025 to the federal government seeking to divert 11-term LNG cargoes to be imported in 11 months of 2025 from ENI to the international market as the Power Division has refused to increase the use of RLNG for electricity generation even during June, July and August---the peak summer season,” the official said.

PLL and ENI signed a 15-year contract in 2017 under which ENI is bound to provide LNG cargo per month at 12.14 per cent of Brent. The refusal of the Power Division prompted top mandarins of the Petroleum Division to keep diverting one LNG cargo from ENI to the international market. Qatar has already deferred the five LNG cargoes to 2026, which were to arrive in 2025 under the flexible clause of the 15-year contract.