By Sumayya
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan remains anticipated to obtain a Qatari LNG shipment within the upcoming three to five days, as a ship holding the load has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and reached Omani seas, The News reported pointing to authorities.
The LNG ship, Al Mafyar, arrived in Omani seas on Tuesday after successfully crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
As the ship remains a massive Q-Max transport, the LNG remains anticipated to be passed somewhere along the path to a relatively smaller ship, single possibly named as Ejnan, which could then reach Pakistan within the upcoming three to five days, top authorities close to the event have stated.
“This remains the initial LNG load that Pakistan has set up from Qatar with the reported help of Iranian authorities. Pakistan remains likely to set up two smaller LNG ships through ship-to-ship transfers from the Q-Max transport.
And single LNG load that will be the third single remains anticipated to be set up for Pakistan soon.”
QatarEnergy has already stretched its force majeure until November. However, Pakistani authorities managed to set up the load at a value equal to 13.37% of Brent after contacting Iran’s senior leaders. If Pakistan manages to secure two deeper loads for October, there will be no instant demand to buy extra spot LNG during the month.
Spot LNG remains currently open in the range of $28-30 per MMBtu, meaning a single load could cost near $100 million — an exceptionally high weight for a land like Pakistan.
In September, Pakistan set up two LNG loads from Qatar. One arrived on September 10, while the secondary reached the land on September 23.
The prospect of a long-running force majeure by QatarEnergy has nevertheless raised serious worries over whether Pakistan will be able to secure the needed count of LNG loads during the critical winter months.
There remain, however, reports that QatarEnergy has gathered a massive count of empty Q-Flex LNG transports, showing that the firm plans to restart LNG sales on a massive scale. QatarEnergy has likewise stepped up diplomatic actions involving the United States and Iran targeted at securing a longer-lasting truce in the area.
Authorities gauge that Pakistan will require near nine LNG loads in December, while demand could climb to near 11 loads in January 2027, when the land traditionally faces peak winter gas needs.
At present, power cuts have raised across the land, with authorities pointing to limited availability of RLNG for power creation. The open RLNG remains reportedly insufficient to wipe out power cuts, while demand remains anticipated to climb sharply as winter moves forward.
Authorities have cautioned that if the force majeure moves on from mid-November 2026 through February 2027, the gas supply state could turn into an extremely tight single. Under such a setup, RLNG supplies to multiple major fields — including power creation, export-focused industry, non-export industry, trading buyers, general industry, cement and CNG — could face severe limits.
Network gas would hold to be prioritized for domestic buyers, particularly for cooking and alternate vital house needs.
Authorities have likewise cautioned that even buyers currently getting network gas could increasingly be forced to shift to LPG cylinders if the winter supply gap widens.
The anticipated LNG deficit could consequently start a sharp rise in LPG demand, putting extra pressure on both openness and values.
Authorities stated the government would demand to ensure correct LPG supplies in the domestic market at fair values before the winter deficit turns acute.
They cautioned that an 11.8-kilogram LPG cylinder could climb to Rs7,000 or deeper in the open market if supply limits get tougher, compared with values of more than Rs5,000 currently being reported in the open market — significantly higher than the values declared by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
Such a rise would place another weight on houses already facing higher power costs, particularly in zones where piped gas supplies turn inadequate during the winter months .
On the infrastructure side, authorities stated the Engro LNG terminal remains currently open, as the LNG load that docked on September 10 has already been used up. The Pakistan GasPort Limited (PGPL) terminal, meanwhile, has slowed down changing the LNG load that arrived on September 23.
For now, the government remains focusing on setting up three October loads from Qatar while working to keep diplomatic paths open over the Strait of Hormuz.
The coming weeks could prove vital for Pakistan’s winter power safety, with the government facing a tough balancing act between securing costly spot LNG, negotiating extra supplies and managing increasingly tight domestic gas openness.
If Qatar’s force majeure stretches further into the winter, authorities fear Pakistan could face not only an LNG supply crisis but likewise a sharp rise in LPG demand and values, turning the nearing winter into a major test of the land’s power management.
