Pakistan Faces Extended Power Cuts as Qatar LNG Shipments Blocked by Hormuz Re-Closure

Pakistan's emergency plan to secure critical liquefied natural gas shipments from Qatar has collapsed following Iran's decision to re-impose control over the Strait of Hormuz on April 18, plunging the country back into an acute energy supply crisis. Pakistan State Oil communicated to the Petroleum Division on Monday that the import of four stranded LNG cargoes has been placed on hold until conditions in the waterway normalise, directly threatening the government's ability to manage power outages across the country.

PSO had been operating under two separate procurement agreements with QatarEnergy for the delivery of four LNG cargoes — part of a batch of eight to ten loaded tankers that have been unable to exit the Persian Gulf since the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran began on February 28 and led to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan had made a diplomatic request at the highest level to Qatar to prioritise the release of these cargoes for delivery once the strait was safe to transit. During the fragile ceasefire period following the April 8 agreement mediated by Pakistan, a brief window of movement had been observed, but Iran's renewed closure has shut that window once again.

The implications for Pakistan's national power grid are severe and immediate. The country's electricity generation sector relies heavily on regasified LNG — known as RLNG — as a key fuel source for combined-cycle power plants. With these four cargoes now blocked, power sector authorities have signalled that load-shedding schedules will persist or worsen until alternative supply arrangements can be made. As summer temperatures climb and residential and commercial electricity demand surges, the strain on the grid is expected to intensify significantly in the days ahead.

Iran justified its re-closure of the Strait by pointing to the United States' continued enforcement of a naval blockade on Iranian ports — a measure Tehran characterises as a direct violation of the April 8 ceasefire agreement. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei described the US blockade as unlawful, criminal, and tantamount to collective punishment of the Iranian civilian population. Tehran has maintained that broad commercial shipping access through the Strait will not be restored until the blockade is lifted, creating a deadlock with Washington that has severe consequences for energy-importing nations worldwide, particularly in Asia.

The disruption has reinvigorated urgent debate inside Pakistan about the country's structural dependence on a single maritime chokepoint for the bulk of its hydrocarbon imports. Pakistan imported more than $10.71 billion worth of crude petroleum and petroleum products in FY25, with the overwhelming majority sourced from Gulf nations and transported through the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar supplies the largest share of Pakistan's LNG under long-term contracts, and this supply has no practical alternative delivery route that bypasses Hormuz under Pakistan's current import infrastructure.

The energy crisis has already imposed massive costs on Pakistan's government and economy since the Strait was initially closed in late February. Petrol prices peaked at a record Rs 458.41 per litre and diesel hit Rs 520.35 per litre in early April, before easing following the ceasefire and a partial resumption of flow. The federal government spent approximately Rs 129 billion to shield consumers through emergency subsidies and austerity-funded fuel cost absorption measures during the height of the crisis. A further deterioration in LNG supply threatens to reverse the limited price relief that consumers experienced after the ceasefire and strain the fiscal position the government has worked carefully to maintain under its IMF programme.

Beyond electricity, the ripple effects of the LNG shortage extend to fertiliser production and industrial processes that rely on gas, potentially affecting agricultural output during a critical sowing season. Pakistan's agricultural sector, which feeds a population of 245 million and contributes significantly to export earnings, is particularly vulnerable to diesel and gas shortages that constrain irrigation pumping and mechanised farming operations. An extended gas supply disruption could therefore carry consequences for food security as well as energy security.

For the millions of Pakistani households and businesses already enduring lengthy daily power cuts, the latest development is a source of considerable frustration and hardship. The government has urged citizens to practise energy conservation and avoid spreading unverified information about supply timelines. Alternate procurement options, including costlier spot-market LNG from outside the Gulf region, are being explored as contingency measures, though the cost premium on such cargoes is substantial and logistical constraints limit how quickly they can be secured and delivered.

The resolution of Pakistan's LNG crisis is ultimately inseparable from the broader trajectory of US-Iran diplomacy. Every day the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted is another day that four loaded Qatari LNG tankers sit idle in the Persian Gulf, unable to deliver the energy Pakistan urgently needs. Pakistan's diplomatic leadership is acutely aware that its role as a peace mediator carries a direct domestic dividend in the form of energy stability, making the next round of negotiations — if and when they take place — as critical to Pakistan's citizens as they are to the wider international community.