South Asia’s LNG Strategy Was Built for the Last Crisis – Not This One

Why it matters: Geopolitical shocks are unraveling South Asia's energy security, exposing the fragility of long-term planning.
- Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka had strategically secured long-term LNG contracts with Gulf nations to ensure stable energy supplies and avoid spot market volatility.
- These carefully laid plans have been severely disrupted by the Iran war, demonstrating how geopolitical events can instantly invalidate long-term energy security strategies.
- The current crisis underscores a critical vulnerability: energy strategies designed for one type of market instability are ill-equipped to handle unforeseen geopolitical conflicts.
South Asian nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka meticulously crafted long-term LNG contracts with Gulf suppliers to shield themselves from unpredictable spot market fluctuations. However, the recent conflict in Iran has completely upended these strategies, leaving their energy security plans in disarray. This geopolitical shock highlights the fragility of energy strategies built on past assumptions when faced with new, unforeseen global crises.


