China to Help Build LNG Terminal at Pakistan's Gwadar Port
Pakistan is collaborating with China to construct an LNG terminal at Gwadar Port and a pipeline to Nawabshah, Pakistani newspaper The News reported Monday.
According to the news report, both the terminal and the pipeline would be built through a Government-to-Government (G2G) arrangement with China.
“We are running from pillar to post to get this mega LNG terminal-cum-pipeline included in the list of early harvest projects agreed with China and once it is included, it will take three to four years to get commissioned,” Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told The News.
Since this would be a G2G project, experts say, there would be no open international bidding.
The newspaper reported that two Chinese companies have already shown interest in building the LNG terminal at Gwadar and lay down the pipeline. The pipeline will require $1 billion and over $2 billion will be needed to construct the terminal with LNG handling and re-gasification facilities and to erect large LNG storages facilities, The News added.
Engro’s ETPL (Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited) is already building a terminal at Port Qasim which would be operational by March 31, 2015.
The minister said that the plan is extend the proposed Nawabshah-Gwadar pipeline backwards from Gwadar to MP 250, a point at Pak-Iran border for the import of Iranian gas. He said this would happen whenever US sanctions on Iran is lifted.
The Gwadar-Nawabshah pipeline will have the same specifications with diameter of 42 inches that is proposed for the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline.
According to officials, since Pakistan is unable to lay down the 781-kilometre-long pipeline from the Iran border to Nawabshah because of Pakistan’s inability to arrange foreign funding, it has been decided to lay down the pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah under the G2G arrangement with China that will transport at least 500 mmcfd after re-gasification of imported LNG, the newspaper said.
The terminal at Gwadar would have handling capacity of 690 mmcfd.