The federal cabinet has approved the diversion of 45 liquefied natural gas cargoes following a sharp slowdown in domestic gas consumption, ratifying an earlier decision taken by the Economic Coordination Committee, The Express Tribune reported, citing official sources.
The ECC’s approval was placed before the cabinet during a recent meeting, where the proposal was endorsed. Two summaries, one on negotiations with the State of Qatar to manage surplus LNG and another on the operation of two SNGPL-linked urea plants, were tabled for consideration.
The Petroleum Division informed the cabinet that Pakistan State Oil was holding excess imported LNG due to persistently low demand in the local market. After negotiations with Qatar, Pakistan reached an arrangement allowing the sale of up to 24 LNG cargoes in 2026 on a net proceeds differential basis.
The cabinet was also briefed that a separate agreement had been concluded with energy company Eni for the diversion of 11 LNG cargoes in 2026 and another 10 cargoes in 2027, also on a net proceeds differential basis. After reviewing the arrangements, the cabinet approved the ECC’s recommendations.
On the other hand, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) announced on Monday a winter gas load-shedding schedule for domestic consumers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, introducing three fixed supply windows per day from December to February.
Under the new plan, households will receive gas from 5:30am to 8:30am, 11:30am to 1:30pm, and 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
Officials advised consumers to prepare meals within these designated hours. They added that industries remain exempt from load-shedding and claimed that although demand has surged “many times over,” there is no supply shortage in the system.
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