Pakistan, Qatar to Finalise LNG Price

Islamabad and Doha are likely to agree on the price of LNG that Qatar would supply to Pakistan, report Express Tribune.

The two parties are expected to meet on February 18 in Doha. 

On the sidelines of the meeting, energy companies of the two countries are expected to sign the Head of Agreement, which has been drafted by the Qatari government, the newspaper adds.

Reports suggest that Qatar is willing to reduce the price in a proposed government-to-government arrangement.

In the Head of Agreement, Qatar insists that the LNG supply contract should be for 15 years extendable for another five years with no “price reopener”, says Express Tribune. It also says that the price should be fixed as a percentage of Brent crude oil and calls for slapping a penalty of $200 million for terminating the agreement at any stage.

Earlier, during negotiations with the previous Pakistani government, Doha had offered LNG export at a price equivalent to 14.7% of Brent crude oil when it was hovering around $110 per barrel in the international market, says the newspaper.

Later, it pushed the price down to $17.437 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), a 0.5% discount over the previous rate of $18.002 for the 20-year lifetime of the project.

Although Qatar has not confirmed it but first LNG is expected to land in Pakistan by November.

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