Tender process: Post decisions, announcements on website, says Hammad Azhar
- Directive to PSO and PLL comes as govt looks to promote transparency in LNG bidding process
Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has directed Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) to post decisions and announcements on their website.
This is being done to avoid confusion pertaining to tenders, said the minister while talking to a private channel on Wednesday night. He said that the current tender process is transparent and takes place under open competitive bidding.
The development comes as questions had been raised on the transparency of LNG tenders, after it was reported in the media that Pakistan has awarded pricey LNG deals.
Furthermore, the minister advised the boards of PSO and PLL that, instead of the management, the board should take the decision regarding the purchase of cargo. This will allow the involvement of more stakeholders and ensure higher supervision, he said.
“We have taken these two additional steps to address misreporting and speculation,” he added.
Cash-strapped Pakistan purchases pricey LNG for Sept
Hammad refuted reports regarding PSO, the state-owned petroleum company, that it has agreed to the world's most expensive deal. “PSO has denied this,” he said.
Regarding PLL's four LNG deals made for September, Hammad said that the market has spiked further since the deals. “At present, we will not get the rate we got at that time,” he said.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Gunvor and PetroChina placed the lowest offers for a tender by Pakistan LNG to buy four liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery in September.
As per sources, Gunvor placed the lowest offer of $15.397 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for two cargoes to be delivered over Sept. 6 to 7 and Sept. 17 to 18 and $15.497 per mmbtu for a cargo to be delivered over Sept. 12-13, the sources said.
PetroChina placed the lowest offer for a cargo to be delivered over Sept. 27-28 at $15.1998 per mmbtu, they said.
Later, Bloomberg stated Pakistan purchased the most expensive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in its history with LNG deals for September at around $15 per mmbtu.
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