ISLAMABAD: In a fresh development, authorities in the Petroleum Division have been informed that the import of four LNG cargoes from Qatar has been suspended following Iran’s renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The situation is expected to extend power outages across the country until re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) supplies are restored.
Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which was managing the import of the four LNG shipments under agreements with QatarEnergy, has conveyed via email to the Petroleum Division that the cargoes will remain on hold until conditions in the Strait of Hormuz stabilise.
Earlier, Pakistan had requested Qatar to allocate four cargoes from 8–10 LNG shipments that were already loaded and stranded due to the ongoing conflict, with plans for delivery after the Strait reopened. However, Iran has again closed the waterway, citing continued US naval blockade activity and what it described as acts of piracy.
Federal Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told The News that QatarEnergy currently has several loaded LNG vessels available, and Pakistan is seeking to secure maximum volumes in the short term. He added that once force majeure conditions are lifted, LNG imports are expected to resume on a more regular schedule.
Following an attack on a Qatari LNG facility, QatarEnergy had declared force majeure on March 4, disrupting Pakistan’s gas supply chain. The Power Division currently requires around 400mmcfd of gas for electricity generation to help reduce load-shedding.
While outages have eased slightly due to increased hydropower generation and higher water releases from Tarbela Dam, the country is currently receiving only about 90mmcfd of gas. Officials expect this to rise to 160mmcfd in May if RLNG supplies remain unavailable.
In the meantime, gas supply to the CNG sector is likely to be suspended in May and diverted to the power sector, while domestic consumers will receive gas only during designated cooking hours.
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