Russian giant Gazprom is considering the potential of delivering liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Pakistan.
The country’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the company is focusing on the construction of the North-South pipeline from Karachi to Lahore under the intergovernmental deal signed in 2015, but LNG supplies are an option.
The two countries signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for the delivery of liquefied natural gas in October last year.
The agreement aims to create favorable conditions for the delivery of Gazprom’s LNG shipments to regasification terminals in Pakistan, a statement by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs reads.
Pakistan currently has two LNG import terminals currently in operation in Karachi, however, with a total capacity of around 9.5 mtpa, a significant supply shortfall of 19 million tones of LNG per annum is still expected.
However, the country is planning to develop new LNG terminals at Port Qasim to further alleviate the gas shortage and it is expected that by 2020 Pakistan’s import capacity will grow to about 30 mtpa.
LNG World News Staff