ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar signed a ten-year LNG agreement in Islamabad on Friday.
Energy Minister Umar Ayub and his Qatari counterpart signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Special Assistant on Petroleum Nadeem Babar.
According to the agreement, Qatar will provide three million tonnes of LNG to Pakistan in the next ten years. The new agreement for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with Qatar will save $300 million annually of Pakistan’s exchequer.
Speaking on the occasion, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi termed the LNG agreement a historic one for both the countries. He expressed the confidence that this will lead to promotion of cooperation between the two countries.
Special Assistant on Petroleum Nadeem Babar said the new agreement signed with Qatar for import of LNG is supportive and meets Pakistan’s needs and requirements. He said the agreement is a start of a new era and take the bilateral relations between the two countries to new heights. He said that Pakistan will further engage with Qatar in petrochemical supplies.
Earlier this year, Pakistan allowed its private sector to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued import licences to at least two companies.
It is to be mentioned here that former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail, ex-PSO MD Imranul Haq and others are accused of awarding an LNG import contract allegedly at exorbitant rates in 2015, which caused a big loss to the national exchequer. – TLTP
