Pakistan has issued an urgent tender to purchase liquefied natural gas for delivery within days, as a series of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global LNG flows. The state-owned Pakistan LNG released the tender over the weekend, seeking a shipment for June 30 to July 4 delivery, with offers due by Monday. This unusually prompt purchase request highlights how buyers can no longer rely on cargoes transiting the strait, a conduit for roughly one-fifth of the world's LNG.
The energy crisis in Pakistan has deepened since the war disrupted shipments from its top supplier, Qatar, forcing the country to buy pricier spot-market fuel for months. On Saturday, a ship carrying Qatari oil was attacked in the strait, following a strike on a Singapore-flagged container ship days earlier. In response, the Joint Maritime Information Center raised its threat level in the region to substantial, and ship-tracking data shows transits of LNG carriers through the waterway have paused since then.
An empty LNG tanker heading into the Persian Gulf via the strait made a U-turn on Friday and remains in the Gulf of Oman, underscoring the heightened risk. However, it is not guaranteed that Pakistan will purchase a shipment, as the country often scraps tenders if a delivery from Qatar becomes available or if spot prices are too high. The tender underscores the fragile state of global energy supply chains and the acute vulnerability of import-dependent nations to geopolitical disruptions in key chokepoints. What to watch next: whether Pakistan secures the cargo and if other Asian buyers follow with emergency tenders, signaling a broader scramble for alternative supply.
Key Takeaways
- Pakistan issued an urgent LNG tender for delivery within days due to attacks in the Strait of Hormuz disrupting supply.
- The strait, handling about 20% of global LNG, has seen carrier transits pause after recent vessel attacks.
- Pakistan has been forced to buy expensive spot-market LNG since the war disrupted shipments from Qatar.
- The country may still scrap the tender if Qatari deliveries resume or prices prove too high.
Insights & Analysis
- The crisis exposes the fragility of just-in-time energy procurement for developing nations with limited storage and financial buffers.
- Repeated attacks in Hormuz could accelerate long-term shifts toward diversified LNG sources and regional energy independence in South Asia.