Pakistani government looking towards African energy giants to import more LNG

The government of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is working to sign deal to import LNG from two African energy giants Nigeria and Algeria. The government is keen to strike deal this year. This is part of the efforts made by the current government to end the energy shortage in the country. Nigeria is fifth largest exporter of LNG in the world. Algeria is also among the largest exporters of LNG.

Pakistan is currently importing 4.5 million tons of LNG every year to meet its needs. The plan is to increased the import to 9 million ton per year. The government is trying to import more LNG before the beginning of harsh winter season.

The matter of fact is that the PML-N government took the bold decision to import the LNG while the opposition parties severely criticise this decision. The current prime minister was the federal minister for natural resources and petroleum when he negotiated the 15 years contract with Qatar. The opposition and some economists criticised the decision for being expensive. But the most expensive energy is the one when there is no energy.

That decision to import LNG helped the government to reduce and minimise the energy crisis. The import of LNG has given new lease of life to power sector, fertilizer sector and some other industries and CNG sector. All the power plants which were shut down due to the shortage of Gas has been running on full capacity since then.

Pakistani energy needs are increasing with fast expanding economy and population. Pakistan will need more than double the LNG  in next three years what it is importing now.