What happened
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) declared force majeure on regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) supplies to four power plants in Punjab, telling the plants it was unable to meet its obligations for about three weeks because of renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, Profit by Pakistan Today reported.
In separate letters, the Lahore-based utility said Pakistan State Oil (PSO) had informed it that a force majeure event notified because of the ongoing war in the Gulf region remained in effect and continued to prevent its supplier from performing obligations under LNG sale and purchase agreements.
SNGPL said PSO had conveyed that Qatar Energy could not deliver cargoes scheduled for the period from 14 July to 3 August, in addition to cargoes previously affected. The supplier was also expected to issue a revised schedule for the remaining cargoes listed in its 2026 annual delivery plan.
Why it matters
The notice could affect more than 5,000 megawatts of RLNG-based generation in Punjab and curtail the transmission of electricity from Sindh to upcountry load centres, officials said. That raises the prospect of heavier loadshedding in Upper Punjab and the northern areas during hot and humid summer weather.
SNGPL said the disruption was beyond its reasonable control and materially affected its ability to perform under a gas supply agreement signed on 29 October 2016, including the supply of RLNG to power plants. It said it was relieved from its performance obligations under Article 13 of the agreement for as long as the force majeure event or its effects continued.
The company said it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with PSO, describing the circumstances as “highly uncertain.”
Officials said LNG supplies were expected to remain largely curtailed until at least 3 August. They said the system operator might have to run power plants on diesel, which would raise generation costs, and that consumers could face either more outages or higher fuel-cost adjustments later. Rationing from cargoes already imported could soften the immediate impact. In April, Pakistan moved to lift gas supply to power plants as imported LNG ran short, and Pakistan LNG Limited floated its first spot LNG tender since December 2023 after the Iran war disrupted Qatari supply.
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