Pakistan receives 1st LNG cargo from Qatar since July

A cargo ship carrying around 82,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar arrived in Pakistan through the near-closed Strait of Hormuz, an official confirmed to Anadolu.

Al Marrouna, carrying LNG from Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal, transited through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and docked at Port Qasim in the country's commercial capital Karachi on Thursday morning, said Asad Altaf, a spokesman for the port.

It marked the first Qatari LNG shipment for Pakistan through the Strait of Hormuz since July.

According to Altaf, Islamabad received the last Qatar-origin LNG cargo on July 11.

"The scheduled cargoes from QatarEnergy had been disrupted due to the regional situation," he added.

The fresh shipment that Pakistan procured under a government-to-government arran­gement with Qatar is likely to boost the South Asian country's LNG supplies and provide temporary relief to the power sector.

It has also eased concerns over a prolonged disruption of Qatari LNG supplies through the strait.

Islamabad and Doha have been playing an active role in ongoing mediation between the US and Iran to bring the two sides back to the table to end their months-long war.

Pakistan is currently facing power outages of between six and 12 hours in several parts of the country amid soaring fuel prices due to fresh hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz.

Currently, Islamabad is following a daily fuel price mechanism in response to the volatile crude market, triggering protests by political parties.