Shell, Petronas, Total in race for Pak LNG terminal deal

New Delhi, Mar 7 (UNI) Global oil majors including UK's Shell, Malaysia's state-run Petronas, France's Total and Italy's Eni are in fray to grab the deal for Pakistan's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

The terminal proposed to be set up in Karachi, with a per day capacity of 300-500 million cubic metres, is expected to cost 15 billion dollars.

''The state-run Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd (SSGC) has received bids from sixteen firms, of which 10 have been identified as qualified bidders. They include Shell, Petronas, Total, Eni and some Japenese firms,'' Pakistan's Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon said here today.

The terminal is expected to be complete before the ''India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) pipeline is laid down in 2009-10,'' the minister added.

A final agreement on the 7.4-billion-dollar IPI gas pipeline is expected to be signed between the three countries by June this year, he added.

The privatisation of Pakistan State Oil is also on fast track and will be complete by the third quarter of this calendar year, Mr Jadoon told reporters on the sidelines of SAARC Energy Ministers' Meeting.

UNI