During the meeting, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry president Zubair F Tufail lauded Qatar’s LNG exports to Pakistan, whose industrial sector, according to him, suffered losses due to power outages.
Citing the challenges Pakistan is facing the field of energy supply, Tufail said until last year, the country had endured long power outages lasting to as long as 16 hours per day.
“Qatar is playing a very important role in our energy sector; after a year of importing gas from Qatar, Pakistan’s LNG imports from Qatar are expected to reach $1bn per year,” Tufail told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the meeting.
According to Tufail, Pakistan receives as much as four LNG cargo ships per month from Qatar. This, he said, was made possible after both countries signed a long-term LNG supply agreement last year.
In February 2016, Qatargas 2 signed a long-term agreement to supply Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) with LNG. Under the terms of the agreement, Qatargas 2 will supply 3.75mn tonnes a year of LNG to PSO for a period of 15 years.
The sales and purchase agreement (SPA) was signed by Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Qatar Petroleum president and CEO, and chairman, Qatargas board of directors; and Sheikh Imran ul Haque, managing director and CEO of PSO.
In April 2015, Qatargas delivered the first commissioning cargo to PSO onboard the LNG vessel, Excelerate Exquisite, the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), moored at Port Qassim as part of the Elengy LNG terminal, Pakistan’s first LNG import terminal.
Qatargas 2, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Total which started production in 2009, is committed to reliable supplies of clean, safe and highly efficient source of energy.
In 2016, Qatar’s exports to Pakistan stood at $685.6mn comprising mainly of petroleum oil and gas, ethylene polymers in its primary shape, organic and chemical products, tools and equipment, and lead (raw).
Qatari imports from Pakistan stood at $87.01mn in 2016 comprising of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and peal of citrus; garments and its articles; semi-milled or whole cereals; meat and edible meat; profiles and iron pipes; articles of apparel and clothing accessories not knitted or crocheted; other textile articles; and miscellaneous spices.
