Pakistan seeks bids for two LNG cargoes for December and January

Pakistan LNG Limited has invited international suppliers to bid for two liquefied natural gas cargoes delivered to Port Qasim, Karachi, in December and January, as a delegation led by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik negotiates cheaper long-term supply with QatarEnergy in Doha.

The tender notice, issued on Thursday, sets the first delivery window at 14-16 December 2026 and the second at 9-11 January 2027, on a Delivered Ex-Ship basis. PLL, owned by the federal government, buys LNG to cover the country's gas requirement.

Business Recorder reported that TotalEnergies Gas & Power Limited was the lowest evaluated bidder for the December window at USD 27.30 per MMBtu, against USD 31 from QatarEnergy Trading LLC. For January, Business Recorder said TotalEnergies quoted Rs24,281,600,000, or USD 27.1 per MMBtu, and was again ranked lowest.

Minute Mirror reported a different outcome for the same two cargoes: that the PLL board rejected the offers from TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy Trading after reviewing them under Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules. TotalEnergies bid Rs24.434 billion for a 140,000 cubic metre December cargo and Rs24.282 billion for January, while QatarEnergy Trading bid Rs27.776 billion for December, according to that report. Business Recorder also said PLL had considered and declined two spot offers for the same delivery months days earlier.

Minute Mirror, citing officials quoted by The News, reported that Pakistan has invoked price-review clauses in its two long-term LNG agreements with Qatar and is seeking lower prices and fewer annual cargoes. The delegation arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with QatarEnergy on revising the agreements, securing supply for the winter months and finalising the 2027 annual delivery plan.

Pakistan wants one cargo for November and four to five each for December and January, against estimated requirements of nine cargoes in December and 11 in January, the report said.

On price, Pakistan sought to cut the rate under the first agreement from 13.37 per cent of the Brent benchmark to 10.20 per cent. QatarEnergy rejected that proposal and offered 11.36 per cent for both contracts. Under the second agreement Pakistan sought 10.20 per cent; QatarEnergy first asked 11.98 per cent and made a final offer of 11.96 per cent for both, according to the report. QatarEnergy has finalised its offer, leaving Pakistan to decide whether to accept it. Pakistan has also sought to cut its annual commitment from 108 cargoes to 66.

The talks are taking place amid disruption to LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and a force majeure declared by QatarEnergy until the end of December. One cargo bound for Pakistan was affected before entering the strait despite clearance from Iranian authorities, and shipments from Qatar have recovered to about half their pre-war levels, the report said.