The Middle East crisis has set off a global energy strain, with countries rushing to lock in fuel supplies to shield themselves from a potential blowout. Pakistan, however, is taking a risky route, choosing to skip urgent LNG purchases and betting that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz will ease sooner rather than later, while cheaper shipments from Qatar arrive right on cue. According to Bloomberg, state-run Pakistan LNG Ltd did not award an emergency tender for two LNG cargoes required for May delivery, which closed on Thursday, as per traders familiar with the matter. The decision, they said, rests on the assumption that tensions between the US and Iran are beginning to cool and that Qatar will soon deliver two contracted LNG shipments to Pakistan.