Pakistan on Monday received an LNG cargo from Qatar after a gap of nearly two months, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to affect the movement of oil and gas cargoes.
The LNG vessel Al Areesh berthed at the Pakistan GasPort Terminal at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 10, officials said. “Yes, cargo has been berthed today at our terminal—Pakistan GasPort Terminal,” an official said.
Since the disruption began on April 30, Pakistan has received seven spot LNG cargoes, while six cargoes, including the vessel that arrived on Monday, have arrived under long-term arrangements, an official of the Ministry of Energy said.
Pakistan has increasingly relied on spot-market LNG purchases to supplement its long-term supplies, with procurement timing influenced by domestic demand and prevailing international LNG prices.
The last LNG cargo from Qatar arrived in Pakistan on June 22, while the most recent spot cargo arrived during the July 27-28 delivery window at a price of $21.88 per million British thermal units.
Pakistan’s LNG import bill fell sharply in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, to $2.221 billion from $3.476 billion a year earlier, a decline of about 36%, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data released on July 21.
Pakistan normally imports around 9-10 LNG cargoes a month under its long-term agreements with Qatar. The government signed its first LNG supply agreement with Qatar in 2016 for 15 years, with the price linked to 13.37% of the Brent crude oil price. A second agreement was signed in 2021 for 10 years, with LNG priced at 10.2% of the Brent oil price.
The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has complicated the movement of energy cargoes, forcing Pakistan to adjust its LNG procurement and rely more heavily on available spot-market supplies to meet domestic requirements.