Iran War Fallout: Pakistan Floats Rare Tender For LNG To Prevent Blackouts

Islamabad: The escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, are sending shockwaves through the global energy market.

Pakistan is currently facing the brunt of this crisis, teetering on the edge of massive power outages. To prevent the country from plunging into darkness, the Pakistani government has been forced into a corner, opting to purchase Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at exorbitant rates from the international spot market.

The shortage of both LPG and LNG has severely crippled Pakistan’s power generation and industrial sectors, leading to widespread electricity shortages that have deeply distressed the public.

In a desperate bid to mitigate the crisis, the state-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd has issued a rare tender. According to a document released on the company’s website, they are urgently seeking three LNG cargoes for delivery between late April and May. Suppliers have been asked to submit their bids by Friday.

The root of this acute shortage traces back to early March. Last year, Pakistan relied heavily on Qatar for its LNG supply. However, the recent geopolitical turmoil prompted Iran to block the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, Qatar’s major LNG export plant, which allegedly faced an attack from Iran, was forced to shut down. This disruption led Qatar to cancel scheduled gas supplies to its clients, leaving countries like Pakistan high and dry.

Now, with domestic power grids failing and industries stalling, Islamabad is making the costly but necessary move to secure fuel, hoping to restore normalcy before the energy crisis worsens.