The energy crisis is going to be severe in the coming weeks since Pakistan is not able to procure LNG at an affordable rate. This has been exacerbated due to its unavailability from the international market in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine War. The global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shortages have pushed the fuel prices to a record high while increasing countries’ vulnerability to commodity market shock. According to Musadik Malik, State Minister for Petroleum, Pakistan simply can not compete with the buying power of European countries who are also potential customers for the same reserves that Pakistan desperately needs.[1]
Pakistan ranks 29th among the countries holding natural gas reserves, with total extractable potential around 24 trillion cubic feet (TCFT), with 4 billion cubic feet (BCFT) daily gas production, meaning it has about 12 years of gas left. The alarming situation for the country is that the supply of natural gas is declining day by day from domestic sources as the consumer need is continuously increasing. The biggest consumer of natural gas is the power sector followed by residential.[2]
