Pakistan has received three bids from international energy firms to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes on a spot basis, according to documents released by Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Friday.
The state-run company said it received offers for three LNG parcels following a tender issued on April 23, marking its first such procurement since 2023. The urgent tenders for delivery of cargoes in May comes amid supply disruptions triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict, triggering a power shortfall in the country.
According to the evaluation document, TotalEnergies Gas and Power Limited submitted a bid of $18.88 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for a 140,000-cubic-meter cargo scheduled for delivery between April 27 and April 30.
Vitol Bahrain offered $18.54/mmBtu for a second cargo, due May 1-7, while OQ Trading offered $17.997/mmBtu for a third cargo due May 8-14.
An official from the Ministry of Energy said the PLL Board, along with petroleum and energy ministry representatives, would meet shortly to review and potentially approve or reject the bids.
Pakistan’s LNG imports have declined sharply in recent months with data released on April 16 by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showing inflows of just $70 million in March, down from $189 million in February and $226 million in March 2025.
For the nine months ending March 31, LNG imports dropped to $1.884 billion, compared with $2.682 billion during the same period a year earlier, it added.
Officials from the Ministry of Petroleum have told the Senate only two of eight scheduled LNG cargoes arrived on time in March due to shipping disruptions linked to the regional conflict. The arrival of six cargoes scheduled for April remains uncertain, they said.
Pakistan typically imports 9-10 LNG cargoes per month from Qatar under long-term agreements. These include a 15-year contract expiring in January 2031 with a Brent slope of 13.37% and a 10-year contract ending in December 2032 with a slope of 10.2%.
The LNG shortage has had a direct impact on electricity generation from regasified LNG, with output falling to 504GWh in March, against 1,528GWh in March 2025, according to data from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and Arif Habib Ltd..
Despite the drop, LNG-based power generation remains cheaper than fuel oil. In March, electricity generated from fuel oil cost Rs. 36.16/unit, compared with Rs. 24.56/unit from regasified LNG, according to the regulator.