ISLAMABAD: Pakistan imported 129,092,714 mmbtu Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in first three quarters of the current fiscal year to meet its growing energy needs.“From July to March, the LNG import remained 129,092,714 mmbtu as compared to 62,373,272 mmbtu of last year during the same period,” official sources said.
They informed that as many as 83 LNG cargoes have arrived in Pakistan since March 2015, which were handled by the country’s only re-gasification terminal at the Port Qasim in Karachi. While, the government is in process of setting up second LNG terminal, which is expected to complete by March 2018.
“The LNG is being imported by the Pakistan State Oil under competitive bidding and through short and long term contracts, while more LNG terminals will be set up to enhance Pakistan’s LNG import capability,” the sources said.
Nowadays, they said, LNG was the essential part of the energy mix needs of the world’s emerging economies like China, Korea, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, European Union, and Brazil.
They said Japan was importing 80 million tonnes of LNG every year (MTPA) and India 15 MTPA due to the commodity’s cheap price and efficiency as compared to other fuels.
In 2015, the sources said, Pakistan signed a 15 year agreement with Qatar to import up to 3.75 million tonnes of LNG a year, which was being highly appreciated by the business community.
The country’s total gas production is around 4bcfd (billion cubic feet per day) against the demand of 8 bcfd, showing a demand-supply gap of four bcfd.
