Qatar, Pakistan to Continue LNG Supply Talks

Qatar and Pakistan will continue talks on LNG price and would press ahead with a government-to-government gas supply deal, reports Express Tribune newspaper.

A Qatari delegation is expected to arrive in Pakistan on May 11.

According to Express Tribune, the visit is significant as it comes at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will make a trip to Tehran to discuss, among other issues, extension in the deadline for constructing the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline to avert hefty penalties.

In previous negotiations, Qatar had asked Pakistan to build a terminal before signing any LNG supply deal. In response, Pakistan awarded a terminal contract to Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (ETPL), a subsidiary of Engro Corp, which would build the facility in 11 months.

“With the commitment to setting up the terminal, we have cleared the way for importing LNG from Qatar,” Express Tribune quotes an official as saying.

Pakistan is looking to buy 200 million cubic feet of LNG per day (mmcfd) in the first phase and would scale it up to 400 mmcfd in latter stages.