AsiaGasOffshore

FSRU to reach Karachi’s Port Qasim today

Karachi: A Floating Storage and Re-gasification Unit (FSRU), leased by Pakistan’s gas importer Elgro Elengy to convert super-chilled methane into natural gas, is expected to arrive at Port Qasim today, having left Dubai on March 7.

“We are ready to receive shipments from March 10 at the special jetty built by us at Port Qasim, but it is up to the government to let us know if they are ready to begin import of the gas,” said the company’s chief executive officer Sheikh Imranul Haque.

Engro Elengy, which had won the contract to handle liquefied natural gas (LNG), has built an LNG terminal at Port Qasim and a 24-km long pipeline in a record 300 days at a cost of $133.3m.

The company also leased the FSRU without having a firm usage commitment from the government, which had earlier declared its intention of importing 200m cubic feet per day (mmfcd) to meet the rising demand from the power sector. Talks with Qatar for the long-term supply of LNG are reported to be at an advanced stage.

Even though the state-controlled Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has guaranteed that it would receive gas imported by the government, banks have been hesitant to finance the project.

Shirish Nadkarni

Shirish Nadkarni is a management consultant and freelance international journalist, who has been writing on all spheres of Indian business for the past three decades for a number of reputed overseas publications. An avid sportsman, Nadkarni has represented India in international veterans' badminton since 1997, and was the 55+ age group doubles world champion in 2005.
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