Pakistan GasPort Ltd. is looking to U.S. shipments to replace missing Persian Gulf cargoes and ease a crippling, months-long energy shortfall, Chairman Iqbal Z. Ahmed told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the GasTech Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
“We can change if we look westward, breaking the hold of the Middle East on supply,” he said.
Mr. Ahmed is representing GasPort, operator of one of Pakistan’s two liquefied natural gas import terminals at Gastech. The major LNG industry gathering in Bangkok features industry stakeholders from across the world and would also include a Strategic Conference on the sidelines.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Ahmed said his company would seek to develop long-term alternative relationships. “The U.S. is poised for a major expansion of energy. Just develop long term relationship with them,” he said, calling on the Government of Pakistan to drive talks and consider allowing private companies like GasPort to directly import LNG rather than relying on state-run companies.
The shift to the U.S., Mr. Ahmed said, was necessary amidst dwindling LNG imports from the Gulf. Pakistan’s LNG imports have dropped from as many as 10-12 cargoes a month to just two or three this month, he added. He said the U.S. had an untapped market in countries like Pakistan.
During his conversation, he stressed on a major crisis underway in Pakistan due to gas supply disruptions, including through power load-shedding. “This will have an impact on the economy,” he warned. However, he expressed optimism that the situation would not persist for too long and there would be a reversal soon. He also warned that the LNG industry was at risk of pricing itself out through hefty rates at the current juncture, especially as renewable sources such as solar continue to gain prominence. He noted Pakistan has significant coal reserves that it can utilize as well.
“LNG is the right answer but the world market is moving in a direction which has led to demand restriction,” explained Mr. Ahmed, warning companies were destroying their own long-term future due to pricing structures.
Mr. Ahmed further noted that GasPort had voluntarily given a discount to the Government of Pakistan in capacity charges amidst the prevailing crisis. “GasPort will give every cooperation to the government to ensure the terminals are fully utilized, the investment is justified, and also it is in the benefit of the country,” he explained. To make Pakistan’s LNG market more resilient, he advised the government to “open up their market, both for imports and for distribution … it will create automatic stability because there will be a wider selection and choice available both at the purchase level and the sale level.”
“Business means liberalization,” he emphasized. “Government cannot do business. It does not have the ability to do business,” he added, reiterating his advice for a shift away from the existing model for Pakistan to import all LNG through state-run companies.