South Asia Investor Review

The recently signed “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan states that “any aggression against either country will be considered an aggression against both”. It is being seen by some geopolitical analysts as the beginning of an "Islamic NATO". Others, such as Indian-American analyst  Shadanand Dhume , have dismissed Pakistan as no more than a "bit player" in the Middle East. Where does the truth lie?  Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif(L) with Saudi Crown Prince MBS Is Pakistan really capable of defending Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf nations against external aggression such as the recent Israeli attack on Qatar? Can Pakistan provide a nuclear umbrella to deter aggression against its friends in the Middle East? Or is it too weak economically and unstable politically to provide security guarantees to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates?  Let's try and understand the context wh...

Pakistan joined the list of LNG importers last year and promptly became one of the world's fastest growing LNG markets, according to  Shell 2017 LNG report .  The South Asian nation has suffered a crippling  energy shortage  as demand has risen sharply to over 6 billion cubic feet per day,  far outstripping the domestic production of about 4 billion cubic feet per day. Recent LNG imports are beginning to make a dent in Pakistan's ongoing energy crisis and helping to  boost economic growth . Current global oversupply and  low LNG prices  are helping customers get better terms on contracts. Pakistan Gas Market Forecast. Source: Platts Global LNG Market: Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan together imported 13.9 million tons of LNG, more than the combined increase of 11.9 million tons by the most populous nations of China and India. The biggest increase in LNG exports in 2016 came from Australia, where exports increased by 15 MT to a total of ...

Pakistan has recently negotiated a good bargain with Qatar for importing $16 billion worth of liquified natural gas (LNG) . Pakistan will import as much as 20 million tons of the super-chilled gas annually from various sources including Qatar, enough to fuel about two-thirds of Pakistan’s power plants. Gas shortage has idled half the nation’s generators. A 75 percent drop in LNG prices since 2014 has  dramatically reduced the cost of the South Asian country’s energy needs, according to a Bloomberg report. LNG arriving in Pakistan from Qatar will fetch 13.37% of the preceding three-month average price of a Brent barrel (considering the present Brent price as a proxy, that would equate to $167.5 per 1000 cubic meters), according to a report in Azerbaijan's Trend News .  It translates to $4.50 per million BTUs. A comparison with Iran's gas deals with Turkey and Iraq indicates that Iranian gas will not be competitive with Qatari LNG on Pakistani market . In 2014 Iran was ...