KARACHI: Pakistan’s Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in fiscal year FY19 ended June 30, 2019, stood at $3.33 billion, up 35.96 percent as compared with LNG imports of 2.45 billion in the corresponding period last year, as the country fast switching to LNG import addiction.

Country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports clocked in at $278.694 million in June 2019, down 17.14 percent compared with imports of $336.34 million in May 2019; and down 15.79 percent as against imports worth $330.95 million in June 2018.

In the long run, furnace oil (RFO) based generation is expected to decline as new LNG/coal based power plants become fully operational and hydel power generation improves with the restoration of water levels in the reservoirs,” a Pearl Securities report noted.

“The gas shortage had made the government unable to provide gas to different sectors of economy including power plants, CNG stations and fertiliser plants, resulting in huge production as well as foreign exchange losses, but the import of LNG has changed the scenario,” an official said.

It may be mentioned here four companies have reportedly submitted offers into a 10-year import tender for deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan.

The companies that placed the offers are Italy’s Eni , Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR, PetroChina International Singapore, a unit of PetroChina Co Ltd and global trading house Trafigura.

Commercial offers are expected to be opened on August 2, 2019.

State-owned Pakistan LNG issued a tender in early June to import 240 LNG cargoes of 140,000 cubic metres each for delivery over a 10-year period for the country’s second LNG terminal which can receive 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas.

The cargoes will be delivered into the Pakistan GasPort Consortium Ltd terminal, with first delivery expected between September 2019 to March 2020. Pakistan LNG is expected to award the tender in August.