Pakistan gears up for another LNG terminal

Qatar Petroleum joins consortium to complete project

KARACHI: Pakistan is aggressively pursuing the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its third terminal at Port Qasim would become operational in 2018, taking the total installed capacity close to 2,000 million cubic feet per day.

A Turkish company, Global Energy Infrastructure Limited (GEIL), is constructing the third terminal that will have a capacity of 750 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) at Port Qasim’s LNG Zone in Karachi, the CEO told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.



“The terminal would be ready to import LNG in the second half {July-December} of 2018,” Farrakh Qayyum, Chief Executive Officer at GEIL in Islamabad, told The Express Tribune.

“This is being set up at a cost of $250-300 million and will be the first private-to-private LNG project,” he said.

The terminal is being constructed by a consortium of the private sector and would facilitate players such as CNG dealers, fertiliser manufacturers, power producers and state-owned companies like Pakistan State Oil.

Höegh LNG, one of the leading providers and operators of LNG Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU), and LNG carriers signed a contract in December 2016 for chartering FSRU with GEIL for the LNG import terminal.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced on Tuesday that it along with Total, Mitsubishi, ExxonMobil and Hoegh have joined the consortium busy in setting up the terminal.

The FSRU, as per the agreement, would help import gas in the country for a period of 20 years from Qatargas. The agreement also provides an option to extend the gas import period by an additional two to five years.

Qatar Petroleum said in a statement “the Consortium will seek to develop a project that includes a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), a jetty and a pipeline to shore to provide a timely and reliable natural gas supply to Pakistan.”

The FSRU will have a minimum regasification capacity of 750 million cubic feet per day by 2018, it said.

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said in the statement “forming this Consortium...represents a significant milestone that complements Pakistan’s successful effort to meet the growing demand for clean-burning natural gas in this important market.”



Pakistan is an energy-deficit country. It has a huge, unmet demand for natural gas that has hindered economic growth over the years. It has recently embarked on an ambitious and aggressive plan to meet its energy needs.

The second LNG terminal, Pakistan LNG Terminal Limited at Port Qasim, is expected to kick-start operation in 2017. FRUS for this terminal, with an install capacity to 600mmcfd, is scheduled to reach Port Qasim sometime in June 2017. The terminal is being set up by Pakistan GasPort Consortium Limited.

The first LNG import terminal in operation was established by Engro’s Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited. It has an installed capacity of 600mmcfd.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2017.

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