Pakistan set to receive second Qatari LNG cargo in September

Mettis Global reported, citing Bloomberg, that a Qatari LNG cargo is due to reach Port Qasim on September 22. Pakistan reportedly arranged safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran for the tanker, which loaded its cargo at Ras Laffan in late June. Ship-tracking data showed the Shandong Redwood crossing the waterway over the weekend, with arrival signalled for Tuesday.

The shipment would be the second Qatari delivery this month, after a cargo reached Pakistan on September 10 and ended an almost two-month pause under the long-term contract. State-owned Pakistan LNG Limited drew no bids for a single September spot cargo before its September 8 deadline. Two earlier September tenders were scrapped after the bids, priced between $26.71 and $26.98 per MMBtu, were judged too expensive.

Pakistan imported 82 LNG cargoes in the fiscal year that closed on June 30, roughly 30% fewer than a year earlier, according to Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and AKD Securities data released on July 22. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures released on Monday showed the LNG import bill declined 28% to $364 million over the opening two months of the present financial year, versus $508 million a year earlier.