Pakistan Seeks Two Spot LNG Cargoes for Winter as Gas Crisis Deepens — Bids Due Nov 6

Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has floated an international tender for two spot LNG cargoes to cover the peak winter months, with the first cargo due between December 14 and 16, 2026 and the second between January 9 and 11, 2027. Bids close on Friday, November 6, 2026 at 2:00pm, and at current spot prices of around $32 per MMBtu the two shipments will cost the country more than $210 million. Here is everything you need to know about the tender, the cost, and what it means for winter gas supply.

Update — 7 November 2026: Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has extended the bidding deadline for these two winter spot cargoes to Tuesday, 10 November 2026. The deadline was originally Friday, 6 November, but international suppliers reported technical difficulties submitting bids through the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority’s new EPADS 2.0 electronic procurement system, so PLL rescheduled both bid submission and opening to 10 November to allow more suppliers to participate. The delivery windows are unchanged: one cargo for 14–16 December 2026 and one for 9–11 January 2027 at Port Qasim.

The tender, numbered PLL/IMP/LNGT80, was issued on Wednesday, November 4, and reported a day later. It is the latest emergency-style purchase on the spot market as Pakistan scrambles to bridge the gap between rising winter demand and disrupted contracted supplies. For households already facing winter gas schedules, the timing matters: every cargo secured now is gas that reaches homes, power plants and industry in December and January, the two hardest months of the year.

Pakistan LNG Tender — Key Facts at a Glance

What the Tender Asks For

PLL is seeking two cargoes of 140,000 cubic metres each, with a tolerance of plus or minus five per cent. Both shipments will be delivered at Port Qasim in Karachi on a Delivered Ex-Ship basis, which means the supplier is responsible for bringing the cargo to the port. The first cargo must arrive in the December 14–16 window, and the second in the January 9–11 window.

The dates are deliberate. Mid-December is when winter gas demand starts climbing sharply across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and early January is typically the coldest stretch of the season. One cargo lands just as the cold sets in; the second arrives for the worst of January.

PLL is a government-owned company mandated to buy LNG from international markets and arrange its supply to end users. Its tenders are closely watched because they reveal, in real time, how much gas Pakistan is short of — and what it is willing to pay on the open market to fill the gap.

Bids Due November 6 — How the Process Works

International suppliers have only a short window to respond. Electronic bids must be submitted by 2:00pm on Friday, November 6, 2026, and they will be opened half an hour later, at 2:30pm the same day. The entire process runs through the government’s E-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (EPADS) version 2.0, and manual submissions will not be entertained at all.

Bidding documents, including the terms and conditions, technical specifications and other requirements, are available on EPADS v2.0 for registered bidders. Suppliers who have not yet registered on the upgraded procurement platform must complete the process through the EPADS vendors’ portal before they can take part. The tight, two-day turnaround from tender to bid deadline tells its own story: this is an urgent purchase, not a routine one.

What Two Spot Cargoes Will Cost Pakistan

At the current spot price of approximately $32 per MMBtu, a single cargo will cost around $105 million, according to The Nation. ProPakistani has put the figure at roughly $100 million per cargo. Either way, the two shipments together will cost the country over $210 million — a heavy bill for just two cargoes.

That is the price of buying on the spot market. Pakistan meets a major part of its winter gas demand through cheaper LNG imported from Qatar under a long-term contract, but spot cargoes cost more, pressure foreign exchange reserves, and add to the circular debt of the gas sector. When contracted supplies fall short, though, the spot market is the only place that can deliver at short notice.

The cost also lands at a difficult moment for the economy. Energy prices are already under pressure across the board — petrol prices were revised again this week — and every expensive cargo widens the gap between what gas costs the government and what consumers pay for it. The rollover of Saudi Arabia’s $3 billion deposit has given Pakistan some breathing room on reserves, but it does not change the arithmetic of a $210 million-plus gas bill.

Why Pakistan Is Buying Spot LNG Now

The immediate trigger is disruption to contracted supplies. The US-Israel-Iran conflict has disrupted Qatari LNG supplies, forcing the government to turn to the spot market to meet electricity and household demand. Since the start of the war, Pakistan has received 18 LNG cargoes to keep the lights on and the gas flowing — 11 supplied by QatarEnergy under the long-term contract and seven bought from the spot market.

Behind that sits a structural problem that returns every winter: gas consumption rises sharply in the cold months while local production stays flat. Under the winter gas supply strategy, the government aims to procure 18 LNG cargoes for the four winter months from November 2026 to February 2027 — these two tendered cargoes are part of that plan.

The pressure is visible on the ground already. Winter gas load-management schedules are in force, and households in the coldest regions are the first to feel the shortage. Anyone planning around the winter supply should check the gas load shedding schedule for winter 2026-27 to know exactly when supply will be available in their area.

The Tender Does Not Guarantee a Purchase

One point deserves emphasis: issuing the tender does not mean the two cargoes will definitely be bought. As Profit reported, the award will depend on the bids received, the prices offered, and the outcome of the bidding process. PLL may reject all bids if the prices come in too high.

That is a real possibility, not a formality. Spot LNG prices move quickly, and if suppliers quote above what PLL will pay, the tender can fail — leaving the winter plan short by two cargoes and forcing another attempt at even shorter notice.

What This Means for Households This Winter

For ordinary consumers, the tender is good news with a caveat. Two more cargoes would ease the worst of the winter shortage, but they will not end load management on their own. Gas is allocated first to domestic consumers in the winter strategy, yet the system remains short overall, and scheduled supply will continue in many areas regardless of this tender’s outcome.

Practically, households should expect the familiar winter pattern: gas at fixed hours, pressure dropping at peak morning and evening use, and the coldest weeks — late December and early January — the hardest. If the cargoes arrive on schedule, those weeks should be a little less severe.

What Happens Next

All eyes are now on Friday, November 6. Bids close at 2:00pm and are opened at 2:30pm through EPADS v2.0. If the prices are acceptable, PLL will move quickly to award the two cargoes so that the first shipment can reach Port Qasim by December 14. If the bids are too expensive, the tender may be scrapped and re-issued, and the winter plan will have to be reworked under even greater time pressure.

Either way, the outcome will set the tone for the rest of the winter procurement season, with sixteen more cargoes still to be secured under the four-month target.

Frequently Asked Questions

By Bilal Ahmed — November 5, 2026. TimelyUps will update this story after the bids are opened on November 6.