Pakistan secured three very expensive emergency LNG cargoes from the spot market. The country needs to avoid electricity shortages ahead of peak summer demand. Pakistan LNG Limited received four bids on Friday after floating tenders to cover a 4,500 MW shortfall. This means Pakistan panic buys LNG at almost 140 percent more than its long-term supplies from Qatar. Those typical prices average around $7 to $9 per mmBtu. The new prices far exceed recent RLNG rates notified by OGRA.

TotalEnergies submitted the lowest bid of $18.88 per mmBtu for the April 27 to 30 delivery window. Vitol Bahrain offered $18.54 per mmBtu for May 1 to 7 delivery. OQ Trading quoted $17.997 per mmBtu for the May 8 to 14 shipment. Each cargo will deliver about 100 million cubic feet per day of gas supply. Pakistan panic buys LNG after disruptions to supply routes due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The urgent tenders went out just a day earlier.

Pakistan faces an electricity shortfall exceeding 4,500 megawatts. This results in six to seven hours of load shedding daily. Growing public pressure over early summer outages forced the Power Division to act. The division directed the Petroleum Division to arrange approximately 400 mmcfd of LNG to support 6,000 MW gas-fired power plants. Diesel-based power generation now costs beyond Rs. 80 per unit. That makes LNG imports economically preferable despite heavy spot prices.

The Power Division has already warned about risks. Any shortage of RLNG supply would increase reliance on expensive fuels. That would raise fuel cost adjustments for consumers and increase load-shedding across the country. Pakistan panic buys LNG now or faces a darker summer.