The government has issued tenders looking for bids from international suppliers to buy six cargoes from the Liquefied Natural Gas spot market.
A local newspaper reported that previously, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) had made the decision to not purchase spot LNG cargoes for April and May.
During its last tenure, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had initiated three LNG-based power plants in Punjab – Haveli Bahadur Shah creating 1,230 megawatts of power, Bhiki creating 1,180 megawatts of power and Balloki power plant making 1,230 megawatts of power.
The government preferred to utilize the LNG power plants for power generation instead of those that use furnace oil and diesel. It had also started building a re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas-based power plant at Trimmu, Jhang. The plant is the fourth in Punjab with a capacity to generate 1,263 megawatts.
In addition to the three LNG-based power plants at Haveli Bahadur Shah, Bhiki and Balloki, many other powerhouses have been inoperable since December 12, 2021 due to the unavailability of RLNG. These include Liberty Power of 210 MW generation capacity, Rousch of 410 MW, Nandipur of 525 MW, FKPCL 140 MW and nine units of Faisalabad GTPS.
