During a speech at the Pakistan Energy Reform conference in Islamabad today the CEO of Engro Elengy Terminal Ltd (EETL) Jahangir Piracha announced the signature of heads of agreement (HOA) with Excelerate and with Shell for the expansion of the Elengy Terminal in Port Qasim.
The EETL terminal is a joint venture between Engro Corporation and Royal Vopak of the Netherlands. It is Pakistan’s first floating LNG import terminal, which began operations in March 2015 and is recognized as the most utilized FSRU worldwide. It currently fulfils as much as 15 percent of Pakistan’s daily natural gas requirements. EETL has handled over 280 LNG cargoes to date.
The current FSRU will be replaced by a new build vessel before the winters of 2020, increasing EETL’s send-out capability by over 150 mmscfd.
The HOA signed gives Shell access rights to the added capacity and enables Shell to bring in LNG imports from its global portfolio of competitive and reliable supply to help meet Pakistan’s growing demand for natural gas.
Speaking at the conference, Marcus Hector, General Manager of LNG Market Development Shell, said “We believe that the supply of natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, can help meet Pakistan’s growing energy needs. With this agreement, we are excited to be able to bring more reliable LNG into the country from our leading global supply portfolio and look forward to continued support from the government, regulator and pipeline company to enable us to do so.”
Natural gas has a vital role to play in providing flexible, secure and cleaner energy and LNG is a quick and flexible solution to enable countries with declining domestic gas production to meet their energy needs. Today, Pakistan is amongst the fastest growing LNG importers globally, with last year’s imports increasing by over 14% to help overcome energy shortages.