Qatar and Pakistan are working to finalise financial arrangements of a long-term agreement for the supply of LNG to the South Asian country.
Pakistan Petroleum Minister and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told Al Raya Newspaper in Doha that the 15-year deal will allow Pakistan to initially import about 1.5mn tonnes of LNG per year via a terminal at Port Qasim.
As part of the $16bn-woth deal, the supply to energy-starved Pakistan is expected to increase to 3mn tonnes a year.
Abbasi expressed hope that Qatargas start the LNG supply before the start of December.
Abbasi added that the capacity of the gas terminal is 3mn tonnes and will be expanded to accommodate 5mn tonnes , pointing out that the Qatari gas will be initially at half capacity and then will cover capacity of the plant at 3mn tonnes per year.
A high-level delegation of Qatargas recently visited Islamabad, where it held talks with Pakistani authorities on technical aspects of the LNG supply deal.
Qatargas company officials also held talks with key stakeholders of three companies namely Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and Sui Northern Gas.
