As Iranian Missile Strikes Knocked Out 17% Of Qatar’s LNG Export Capacity And Hormuz Remains Effectively Shut Since February 28, Pakistan Is Now Paying The Price Of Being A Major Gulf Energy Importer With No Alternative Supply Infrastructure
According to Bloomberg, Pakistan purchased its most expensive liquefied natural gas shipment in about four years, as the country grapples with an energy shortage due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. State-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd. bought a cargo for June 6-7 delivery from BP Plc via a tender that closed on Thursday.
The disruption to global maritime trade following Iran’s announcement of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on March 2, 2026, resulted in outbound traffic from the Persian Gulf coming to almost a complete halt, with crude oil, LNG, and fertiliser-related shipments all dropping abruptly. Iranian missile strikes on Qatar knocked out approximately 17 per cent of LNG export capacity, according to QatarEnergy chief executive Saad Al Kaabi.
Pakistan has been at the sharp end of the Hormuz disruption from the beginning. Two Qatari LNG tankers aborted an April 6 crossing after failing to obtain Iranian clearance, underscoring the strait’s effective closure. A government-to-government deal between Pakistan and Iran eventually enabled a limited Qatari tanker transit in May but it remains the exception, not the rule, for Pakistani energy imports. The International Energy Agency has warned that the duration of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a key uncertainty that will affect global gas demand in 2026, with March LNG output already down 8 per cent year on year.
Friday’s premium purchase from BP confirms that Pakistan’s energy crisis; long structural, now acute has entered a new phase in which the country is paying emergency-level prices for spot cargos that bypass the world’s most disrupted chokepoint.
To check out our previous coverage on Pakistan, global energy markets, and the Hormuz crisis, read our articles here.
