Pakistan has purchased another liquefied natural gas cargo from the international spot market as supply constraints from Qatar continue in the aftermath of disruptions linked to the Iran-Israel conflict.
State-owned Pakistan LNG Limited bought the cargo from TotalEnergies for delivery on July 10-11 at $17.37 per million British thermal units, according to a report by Bloomberg. The purchase followed a tender that closed on Friday and marks Pakistan’s second spot LNG procurement in the past two weeks.
The latest deal comes as Pakistan works to replace LNG cargoes that could not be delivered under its long-term contracts with Qatar after exports were disrupted during the regional conflict. Although shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz has improved following the US-Iran ceasefire, Qatari LNG exports have not yet fully normalized.
Pakistan has historically depended heavily on long-term LNG supply agreements with Qatar, leaving it exposed when deliveries were interrupted. During the conflict, attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping disruptions forced Islamabad to seek alternative cargoes from countries including the United States, Oman, Mozambique, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo, according to Bloomberg data.
The newly purchased spot cargo is priced at nearly double the cost of Pakistan’s long-term LNG supplies from Qatar, underlining the financial burden created by the disruption.
The higher import costs are already feeding into the domestic energy market. Earlier this month, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority raised regasified LNG prices by around 15 percent, citing costly spot purchases and supply disruptions linked to the regional conflict.
The increase has pushed up fuel costs for RLNG-based power generation as well as industrial consumers, adding further pressure to Pakistan’s energy sector at a time of supply uncertainty and elevated import costs.
