ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured another spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to reinforce energy supplies amid heightened regional tensions, with British Petroleum (BP) Singapore emerging as the successful bidder for a 140,000-cubic-metre shipment at $16.7372 per mmBtu, official sources told The News.
The LNG carrier ARADA to be arranged by BP Singapore is likely to berth at the Pakistan GasPort Consortium Limited (PGPL) terminal on July 4, 2026, making it the third spot LNG cargo arranged through competitive bidding under the amended Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules introduced after the May 28 escalation following the attack on Iran.
Including the five long-term cargoes supplied by QatarEnergy under the government-to-government (GtG) LNG supply agreement, ARADA will become the eighth LNG cargo received by Pakistan since late April as authorities continue to strengthen fuel supplies against the backdrop of regional geopolitical uncertainty.
A senior Petroleum Division official said the Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) Board on June 29 approved the award of the spot cargo contract to BP Singapore at $16.7372 per mmBtu for delivery within the June 30-July 4, 2026 window.
PLL had floated the tender for the 140,000-cubic-metre cargo on June 27, 2026, and opened bids at 2pm on June 29. BP Singapore submitted the sole bid at $16.7372 per mmbtu, which was declared technically and commercially responsive before receiving formal approval from the PLL Board the same day.
According to official data, no local gas fields are currently under forced closure, while the system linepack stands at 4.7 billion cubic feet (bcf), indicating sufficient gas inventory within the transmission network.
However, officials said domestic supplies have been partially affected by a security-related incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Gas production from the Bettani field has remained suspended since 1920 hours on June 15, 2026, after militants fired on the 8-inch Bettani-Kakakhel transmission pipeline, causing a gas leak near MP-23.85 at the Paharkhel valve assembly. Restoration work is continuing.
Despite the disruption, RLNG remains the backbone of gas supplies to key sectors. Official linepack data as of June 30, 2026, shows that the power sector is consuming 374 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of re-gasified LNG (RLNG) for electricity generation, while the fertilizer sector is utilising 87 mmcfd. Before the arrival of ARADA, Pakistan had already received long-term LNG cargo from QatarEnergy.
The LNG carrier MRAIKH berthed at the Engro LNG Terminal at Port Qasim on June 22, 2026, carrying 170,148 cubic metres of LNG from Ras Laffan, Qatar, under the long-term supply agreement priced at 13.37 per cent of Brent crude.
The five cargoes supplied by QatarEnergy under the GtG arrangement include Al Kharaitiyat, carrying 210,000 cubic metres, which arrived on May 12; Mihzem, carrying 160,000 cubic metres, on May 16; Fuwairit, carrying 123,000 cubic metres, on May 28; Lebrethah, carrying 164,000 cubic metres, on June 12; and MRAIKH, carrying 170,148 cubic metres, on June 22.
Apart from the QatarEnergy shipments, Pakistan has also secured two other spot LNG cargoes through international competitive bidding.These include Seapeak Magellan, carrying 140,000 cubic metres and supplied by TotalEnergies, which arrived on April 30, and BW Helios, carrying 167,000 cubic metres sourced from Oman, which arrived on June 9.
