Foreign LNG firms to invest $500m without off-take guarantees.

Byline: Shahid Kamal

ISLAMABAD -- A parliamentary body on Wednesday was informed that international companies investing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) will bring in roughly $500 million foreign direct investment without any financial subsidy and off-take guarantees from the government which earlier placed unnecessary financial burden on the state.

During the meeting of Standing Committee of National Assembly on Maritime Affairs, members inquired about the details of two new LNG terminals. Members were briefed that $10 million was being paid for the land alone. The basic premise of LNG imports over the past decade had been to reduce import bill through substitution of expensive furnace oil. Its introduction would also increase power sector efficiencies and lower carbon emissions.

The committee was informed that previously the government had committed to pay roughly $250,000 per day per terminal for Rental and ReGasification charges that would cost the government some Rs420 billion over 15 years.

Members were also informed that the government was not giving any Rental and Regasification charges or any off take guarantee in any form for new LNG terminals.

The committee members noted that the terms on which two new LNG terminals are being installed at Port Qasim were an excellent initiative by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMA).

The members were also briefed about the ministry's participation in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

According to the officials from the ministry, it was the for the first time in the history of the country that a federal minister not only addressed representatives from 88 countries but also solicited the case of Pakistan effectively.

Secretary Maritime Affairs Rizwan Ahmed informed members that Pakistan was appointing a permanent representative in IMO and was planning to contest the elections in 2021. Pakistan's significance in the context of global...