Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), a government subsidiary that procures liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international market, has issued a tender seeking a LNG cargo.

PLL, in the tender advertised on Monday, is seeking one cargo on a delivered-ex-ship (DES) basis to Port Qasim in Karachi in January.

The delivery windows are January 8-9.

The tender will close on November 24.

PLL has been mandated by the Pakistan government to import and sell natural gas, LNG and re-gasified LNG.

PLL procures LNG from international markets and enters into onward arrangements for the supply of gas to end users, managing the whole supply chain of LNG.

Dependent on gas for power generation, Pakistan has struggled to procure spot cargoes of LNG after global prices spiked last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving it to face widespread power outages.

Back in September, PLL issued a tender seeking two LNG cargoes for the month of December. PLL awarded the tender to commodities trader Vitol.

In June, PLL failed to secure offers for six cargoes on a DES basis for October and December delivery to Port Qasim.

Pakistan has two long-term supply deals with Qatar, one signed in 2016 for 3.75 million metric tons of LNG a year, and another signed in 2021 for 3 million metric tons a year.

It also has an annual portfolio contract with ENI for 0.75 million metric tons a year.

In 2022, Pakistan’s imports of LNG slowed to 6.93 million metric tons for the year, down from 8.23 million metric tons in 2021, according to data from data analytics group Kpler.