KARACHI: Pakistan LNG Limited on Wednesday issued a fast-paced tender seeking one liquefied natural gas cargo for delivery June 6-7, with bids due in less than 24 hours.
The state-owned buyer set a deadline of 2 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time on June 4 for submissions under tender PLL/IMP/LNGT66. Technical bids are scheduled to open at 2:30 p.m. the same day, followed by commercial offers at 4 p.m.
The cargo is sought on a delivered ex-ship basis at the Pakistan Gas Port Consortium Limited terminal at Port Qasim, Karachi. The required volume is 140,000 cubic meters, plus or minus 2%.
Bidders must offer a fixed price in U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, rounded to four decimal places. Pakistan LNG said it would reject any offers containing a pricing constant or conditional terms.
The tender requires participants to submit a $300,000 bid bond in the form of an unconditional bank guarantee from a scheduled bank operating in Pakistan with a long-term credit rating of at least AA from PACRA or JCR-VIS, or an equivalent international rating.
The required delivery window is June 6-7, with allowed laytime set at 48 hours. Shorter transit times from the loading port would reduce the number of advance arrival notices required under the master agreement.
Pakistan is facing a daily electricity shortfall of about 4,000 MW, largely due to a Qatari force majeure that shut down regasified LNG-powered units. Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari noted that LNG imports have been disrupted by Middle East events.
While spot LNG purchases are an option, they would be much more expensive, around $22–$25/MMBtu compared to ~$16/MMBtu for contractual cargoes, potentially burdening consumers.
Industry analysts expect persistent shortages due to restricted LNG, reduced hydro generation, and limited water resources. The government is also rationing fuel oil-based power due to high costs. LNG imports fell sharply to $70 million in March from $226 million in March 2025.
Pakistan typically imports about 9-10 LNG cargoes each month from Qatar under long-term LNG purchase contracts.
LNG imports in the nine months ended March 31 fell to $1.884 billion from $2.682 billion during the same period a year earlier, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed April 16.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to QatarEnergy's LNG exports have significantly altered Pakistan's gas balance, transforming a once-oversupplied market into one now supply-constrained, analysts at S&P Global CERA said in a report March 31.
A brokerage analyst called spot LNG a short-term lifeline but said long-term contracts are a smarter strategy. Meanwhile, the power division plans daily load management of about 2.25 hours during peak times to avoid using costly fuels and raising tariffs.
Pakistan LNG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Government Holdings Private Limited and operates under the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division. The company manages the country’s LNG supply chain from procurement to end users.
