Baku and Islamabad signed an agreement on the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Azerbaijan will supply Pakistan with 12 LNG shipments on flexible terms within 1 year.
PLL Managing Director Masood Nabi and SOCAR Trading CEO and Mariam Almaszadeh signed the agreement in Lahore on July 24. The price of LNG will be determined in dollars per MMBtu for each shipment 45 days before the relevant delivery window. The quantity of LNG cargo will be 3.2 million MMBtu +/- 5%. The Pakistani side will have to make payment within 30 days after receiving the PLL invoice. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited Baku in June, hailed the agreement as an "important milestone" for both countries. He said the LNG supply agreement "will help alleviate gas shortages in Pakistan and bring relief to people and industry." "The agreement is valid for one year, with an option to extend for another year," Sharif said at the signing ceremony, highlighting the potential for a long-term cooperation. “SOCAR will offer Pakistan one cargo of LNG every month, and Pakistan will decide whether we should buy this cargo at this price,” the Prime Minister emphasized. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov also praised the energy agreement. Pakistan has expressed its readiness to expand cooperation in the petrochemical, solar energy, technology and defense sectors. Pakistan is committed to diversifying its energy sources. The country of 230 million people faces challenges in meeting its energy needs due to rising prices in the LNG spot market and financial constraints. During Prime Minister Sharif's visit to Baku in June 2023, the two countries approved an LNG purchase agreement for expanding cooperation in the field of energy resources. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev played a decisive role in completing the deal, and Prime Minister Sharif expressed gratitude for the president's support. As TRT previously wrote in Russian, Tashkent approved the creation of a joint investment fund with Baku for $500 million. The agreement was signed on February 24, 2023 in Tashkent on the results of the first meeting of the forum of regions and the meeting of the business council of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
