A good news for Pakistan on the economic front
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ISLAMABAD - World's largest Oil and Gas Companies consortium makes big entry into Pakistan with the award of the five new mega LNG terminals across the country.
Pakistan has given the go-ahead to five consortiums, including Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi, to progress with their liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal plans.
Pakistan’s LNG market is estimated at billions of dollars with vast potential of further expansion with rise in economic activity and CPEC Phase 2.
Pakistan is seen as a big growth market for the global LNG industry as domestic gas production slips in tandem with a growing industrial economy hungry for gas.
But an anti-corruption drive by Prime Minister Imran Khan led to the arrests of a former boss of Engro, which built the first import terminal, and the chief of another company associated with a second terminal, Reuters has reported.
Power and Petroleum Minister Omar Ayub Khan downplayed any impact the arrests may have had on investors’ sentiment, saying the interest from multinationals spoke for itself.
“That is a ringing endorsement that (our) policies are clear and transparent,” he said. “It’s a competitive market.”
The groups approved to progress are Tabeer Energy, a unit of Mitsubishi, Energas with partner Exxon; Pakistan GasPort and commodities trader Trafigura; Engro with partner Shell, and Gunvor with Pakistani conglomerate Fatima.
Tabeer Energy, Engro and Energas already announced plans for the terminals which will be Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRUs) vessels. These can be newbuild or converted LNG tankers, speeding up the delivery of the import projects.
