Dubai’s ENOC declines LNG cargo delivery to Pakistan as international prices soar

KARACHI: Dubai’s state-owned Emirates National Oil Company Limited (ENOC) has declined to deliver a liquified natural gas (LNG) shipment to Pakistan for the end of February amid rising prices in the international market, Pakistani officials have said, as gas shortages continue to soar nationwide.
Since the start of the winter, Pakistanis using natural gas for cooking and heating, as well as factories and power plants that rely on the fuel, have experienced significant inconvenience due to low gas pressure or no supply at all. Factories and business have been badly affected, threatening jobs and the livelihoods of workers.
Indeed, December and January see the largest spike in demand for gas in Pakistan, but this year authorities have said the demand-supply shortfall is greater on the back of higher consumption and diminishing indigenous supply.
Last month, SOCAR Trading (UK) Limited and ENOC Singapore offered the lowest prices to supply two liquefied natural gas cargoes to Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) for delivery in February 2021, according to a tender document.
SOCAR offered a cargo for delivery between February 15 to 16 at a percentage of the Brent crude oil futures price, known as a slope rate, of 23.4331%, while ENOC offered a slope rate of 20.8483% for a cargo for February 23 to 24, according to a document on the PLL website.
“The spot cargo in mid-February was awarded to SOCAR Trading UK Ltd. The second spot cargo, in the last week of February 2021, was awarded to the lowest bidder as per Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules, who conveyed inability to deliver as per its bid,” PLL said in a statement on Saturday about ENOC.
After ENOC conveyed its inability to deliver the cargo, PLL said it had approached the second and third lowest bidders within the bid validity period, all of whom also regretted to deliver the cargo at the prices they had offered in their earlier bids.
“This bid default of the suppliers is associated with the recent supply shortages leading to high price volatility in the spot market coupled with extra buying in North Asia,” PLL said.
Pakistan is legally bound to award a contract after 10 days of bids opening, which in this case was January 07, 2021.
Due to its failure to fulfil its contract commitment, the ENOC has lost its surety bond worth $300,000.
Dropping mercury across Asia and Europe has been driving LNG cargo prices to record highs. Spot LNG prices on Wednesday surged to a record high of $32.50 per mmbtu, according to S&P Global Platts, the price agency which issues Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM), a reference point used for spot deals in the region.
Analysts say the non-delivery of a single cargo will not have a major impact on the supply of gas in the domestic market.
“There is a short supply of LNG in the international market, that is why ENOC opted out of the contract,” Samiullah Tariq, head of Research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment, told Arab News. “There would be no major impact on the supply side. The supply has improved with rise in temperatures in parts of the country.”
“At this time, a total of eight cargoes are secured,” the PLL statement said. “PLL is working with the respective users to reconfirm demand at the current prices and is exploring alternatives if demand for an additional cargo in February is reconfirmed.”
The South Asian country has become an emerging buyer in the international LNG market over the last few years, with an increasing gap between demand and supply of gas.
Pakistan has long-term purchase deals in place, but regularly taps the spot market as demand continues to rise.
The power sector is Pakistan’s largest natural gas consumer, followed by residential consumption and the fertilizer industry.

Dubai’s ENOC declines LNG cargo delivery to Pakistan as international prices soar