Pakistan has received a long-awaited liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from Qatar after weeks of delays caused by tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The QatarEnergy vessel Al-Areesh docked at the Pakistan GasPort Limited terminal near Karachi on Monday at around 11:30 am. It carried 141,550 cubic metres of LNG under the government’s long-term deal with Qatar.
The tanker had left the Strait of Hormuz on July 30 but was forced to turn back the next day due to renewed regional clashes. Officials verified that the cargo is priced at 13.37 percent of Brent crude, which is significantly less than the current spot market rates, which have increased to be about $21 per million British thermal units.
Due to an earlier declaration of force majeure following an attack on its Ras Laffan facilities in March, this delivery is significant. Regular supplies were disrupted when the force majeure was later prolonged. In recent months, Pakistan’s power plants have been dependent on expensive spot cargoes.
