Pakistan LNG Limited has issued its first spot tender for liquefied natural gas (LNG) since December 2023 amid supply shortfalls triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The company is seeking bids from international suppliers for three LNG cargoes of around 140,000 cubic meters each for delivery on April 27-30, and on May 1-7 and 8-14 at Port Qasim in Karachi, according to a tender advertisement on Thursday.
Pakistan has not received any LNG cargoes loaded after the war began on February 28 and Iran subsequently shut off almost all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz that connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.
Qatar, which depends on access through Hormuz to move its energy output, supplied the bulk of the 6.64 million metric tons of LNG that Pakistan imported last year, according to Kpler data.
Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR said on Tuesday it is ready to supply LNG to Pakistan as soon as it receives a request from Islamabad, as a framework agreement signed in 2025 between SOCAR Trading and Pakistan LNG allows the South Asian buyer to purchase cargoes directly under an accelerated procedure.
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handled 20 percent of global LNG flows before the war, pushed Asian spot prices to three-year highs, though they have pulled back some recently. They were last at $16.05 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a 54 percent increase since February 23.
Analysts have slashed global LNG supply outlooks and expect high prices and the supply shortage to cause demand destruction across Asia.