BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.28
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
SOCAR Trading — a commercial arm of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic — has offered supply of petrol and LNG cargoes to Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) round the year on credit under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement to build upon strategically friendly relationship between the two countries, Trend reports citing Dawn.
A SOCAR Trading spokesperson told Dawn that Azerbaijan is a major producer of oil and gas and operates several oil and chemical refineries in many countries. SOCAR Trading, which has won the tender and confirmed the delivery of an LNG cargo on Feb 15-16 window, was surprised to hear a reference to default on this delivery as no such action has taken place and the cargo was scheduled to arrive to Pakistan as contracted.
The spokesperson confirmed that SOCAR had offered petrol and LNG supplies on a long-term basis and the offer was based on commercially acceptable terms to both sides and never involved any undue pressure applied by any of the parties.
Informed sources said SOCAR had not only revalidated the bid bond of about $300,000 along with extension in its expiry period but has also submitted $3.73 million worth of performance guarantee to confirm delivering LNG spot cargo awarded to it by PLL on Jan 7.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR earlier came up with the lowest bid for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to Pakistan for February 15-16, 2021 at 20.8483 percent of Brent, which is equal to $10.5 per MMBTU.
SOCAR buys and sells LNG over a very wide geography, including the Mediterranean basin, Asia and other regions. LNG is purchased from third parties and forms part of the company’s trade with third parties and buyers. This product is not exported from Azerbaijan due to the lack of direct sea access of Azerbaijan to the world ocean.
SOCAR regularly supplies hydrocarbons to Pakistan and intends to continue this cooperation in the future.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn