SSGC, the Sui Southern Gas Company, shortlisted 2 bidders on Thursday for the creation of a second LNG import terminal in Pakistan according to sources from the petroleum ministry. According to its evaluation criteria PGPL, Pakistan Gas Port Ltd and Guvnor scored 89.3 from the SSGC consultancy AF Capital whilst Akbar Associates achieved a score of 74.73. Both companies have been declared as being technically qualified and have now moved forward into the final round of bidding. Engro’s ETPL, Elengy Terminal Pakistan Ltd, responsible for building Pakistan’s first LNG terminal back in March, only scored 61.9 and therefore doesn’t qualify as in order to reach the final round bidders had to achieve a score of at least 70. According to the aforementioned sources, the SSGC board met in Islamabad on Wednesday and approved the AF Capital recommendations.
SSGC has now asked both Akbar Associates and PGPL to send representatives to Islamabad on Friday to the public airing of their offers. The project is set to be awarded to the bidder who offers the lowest tariff. Akbar Associates, ETPL and PGPL all submitted their bids on the 27th January and the tariff of ETPL’s current terminal is 66c per mmbtu; million British thermal units. The bidder who successfully wins the contract must start the contact within 24 months and make a capacity of 400 mmcfd, 400m cubic ft per day, available to the SSGC. In the same manner as ETPL’s existing project, PGPL proposed to establish a re-gasification unit in the form of floating storage whereas Akbar Associates is looking to create a terminal which is land based. Together, the existing ETPL terminal and this new one will reduce the country’s LNG deficit by 53% during summer months and by 36% through the winter. Additionally, the federal government is planning to begin the process of creating a land based import terminal for LNG at Gwadar for which it is receiving Chinese assistance.