Pakistan’s Gwadar Port to Become a Natural Gas Transportation Hub
The Pakistani government is poised to make the port of Gwadar a gas transportation hub, Dawn reported on June 22.
The port of Gwadar is strategically located as the third largest port in Pakistan, only about 120 km from the Persian Gulf, providing easy access to the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.
The Pakistani government is convincing Europe and China to ship gas from the Central Asian country through the Gwadar port to ensure its own energy security in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Pakistan’s oil minister said the arrangement could bring a new revolution in energy security to Europe and beyond, and Pakistan could become an energy transportation hub.
The oil minister told the media on June 21 that the five Central Asian countries are the energy capitals of the world, yet all are landlocked and far from the sea, making it difficult to export.
The oil minister said the Pakistani government has been in contact with Central Asia, Europe, Turkey, China and even the United States to promote Pakistan as a natural trading hub for natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). “Pakistan has discussed this issue with its allies and friendly countries,” he added.
The oil minister said Turkmenistan cannot sell gas worldwide because of the lack of ports, but its gas can be delivered to Pakistan via pipeline.
“We have made a proposal to deliver gas to Pakistan through a pipeline. Turkmenistan has huge reserves of natural gas, almost equal to those of Qatar.” “We propose that countries around the world, especially China and Europe, come to Gwadar to build their LNG plants, invest in this sector and export to other countries.”
Financing is a key challenge for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, he said, adding that international multilateral financial institutions could also provide $10 billion in financing support once European countries identify opportunities to achieve energy security through Pakistan.
The Gwadar port has several advantages that make it ideal for transporting natural gas:
- Geography Location: The port of Gwadar is located on the coastline of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, near the Persian Gulf, which allows for easy transportation of natural gas exported from the Middle East by sea to the port. It is also close to the Indian Ocean and Central Asia, which provides easy access for importing gas from other regions to Pakistan.
- Deepwater Port: Gwadar Port is a deepwater port with good navigation channels and terminal facilities to accommodate large liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels. This allows the Port of Gwadar to handle large scale gas import and export operations and has the potential to expand to meet future demand.
- Port Facilities: The Port of Gwadar has been developed and improved over the years with the construction of modern port facilities, including terminals, storage tanks and associated logistics and warehousing facilities. These facilities are capable of efficiently supporting the handling, storage and distribution of natural gas, ensuring smooth transportation and supply chain management.
- Added Value: The Port of Gwadar is also equipped with the Gwadar Free Zone. The Free Zone will provide a convenient policy environment, tax incentives and favorable conditions to attract international companies to establish infrastructure in the region and promote the development of related industries, which will further increase the advantages of transporting natural gas at Gwadar Port.
In summary, the Gwadar port has the geographical advantages, deep water port, modern facilities and potential for future development that make it ideal for transporting natural gas.
The Gwadar port will provide Pakistan with reliable access to gas imports and exports and will make an important contribution to the region’s energy security and economic development.
The Pakistani government is poised to make the port of Gwadar a gas transportation hub, Dawn reported on June 22. The port of Gwadar is strategically located as the third largest port in Pakistan, only about 120 km from the Persian Gulf, providing easy access to the Indian Ocean and…