Pakistan’s energy crisis is expected to draw out for months following another botched effort by the South Asian nation to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), reported Bloomberg.
Stephen Stapczynski, a Singapore-based Bloomberg reporter who covers energy and commodities in the region, tweeted news of the underlined development. “Pakistan’s energy crisis looks set to drag on for months after another failed effort to buy LNG,” he posted.
Bloomberg reported that the state-owned Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) did not get a single offer for its massive $1 billion LNG cargo tender. This indicates both the intensity of the worldwide fuel crunch and suppliers’ unwillingness to supply to a country in the grip of an economic crisis.
It’s the fourth time since June that Pakistan has failed to close an LNG tender. Because the country is reliant on energy imports, rising prices have impacted it hard. Inflation has reached 20 percent, and the government is ‘arranging’ a financial rescue plan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Overall, Asian gas prices have already risen further in recent weeks due to increased supply interruptions from Russia to the United States. Global LNG shipments are being rerouted to energy-stressed Europe, where utilities are ready to pay higher prices than emerging markets. Thailand and India have reduced imports because of high prices, but they are not as vulnerable as Pakistan.
Pakistan was looking to acquire 10 LNG cargoes on the spot market for the July-September window in a tender that concluded on Thursday. Even if PLL’s tender had received bids from suppliers, dealers said the government would have been unable to make any purchases owing to how expensive they currently are.
Historically, this was PLL’s fourth unsuccessful attempt to secure LNG cargoes in the spot market. The previous three tenders, which were released on May 31, June 7, and June 16, failed to attract good bids.
Source: Propakistani.pk