Pakistan mulls allowing private firms to directly import LNG: report

Pakistan is weighing a plan that would let power generators and other private buyers bring in liquefied natural gas on their own, a step aimed at easing financial pressure on the government. Business Recorder, citing Bloomberg, said the account came from a person close to the discussions and was published on Wednesday. Two of the country's LNG terminals have stood largely idle since March, when supplies from Qatar stopped amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Under existing rules, buyers other than the state-owned Pakistan LNG Limited find it hard to purchase cargoes on the spot market. The Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Energy has proposed widening the auction of unused terminal capacity and allowing private firms to import directly. The shift follows renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, which led to the cancellation of a Qatari cargo scheduled for July 2026, and Qatar declared force majeure.

Earlier this month, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik warned fuel could cost up to Rs1,000 per litre if a shortage emerges, while noting there is no shortage at present. The report adds that long-term Qatari contracts have been Pakistan's main source of steady, lower-cost LNG.