ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state minister for petroleum Musadik Masood Malik admitted on Saturday his country was finding it difficult to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) from international market since it could not outbid rich European nations that stopped their energy imports from Russia earlier this year.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the armed forces of his country to invade Ukraine in February, causing massive disruption to the global energy market. While European nations hit Moscow with painful economic sanctions, they turned to other oil and gas producers to meet their energy demand.
Speaking at a two-day conference organized by the Center of Excellence in Journalism at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Malik said Pakistan had carried out two rounds of tenders for LNG but failed to find a bidder.
“Since supply from Russia is suspended due to its war with Ukraine, European countries are also buying gas from everywhere it is available,” he was quoted by Dawn newspaper as saying.
Malik added the cost of LNG, which was $4 about two-and-a-half years ago, had exceeded to $40 due to the war.
He told the audience that Pakistan did not have enough energy and could not afford expensive gas.
“So, what we are doing is arranging alternates,” he added. “The recent increase in production, imports of coal and furnace oil is part of the same strategy.”
The minister disclosed that Pakistan had imported five ships of furnace oil within a month while acquiring coal in large quantities to run its energy production units. He hoped the increased imports of furnace oil and coal would provide some relief to the masses after July 15 when the monsoon season is also expected to improve water flows for hydel power generation.
Malik said these were tough decisions, though he added the government could not “sit idle and keep watching as the country turns into Sri Lanka.”
