ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Musadiq Malik said on Wednesday that Pakistan is negotiating to buy a second cargo of discounted Russian crude oil.
Highlighting the success of a first agreement, Malik said that there was no possibility that the country would not benefit from Russian crude. The government is finalising another shipment.
The minister said that the first shipment of 100,000 tons of Russian Urals had been successfully tested at Pakistan Refinery Limited, despite limitations like insurance costs and higher freight.
Malik, however, did not disclose the oil quantity of the second shipment.
The first shipment, agreed in April, arrived at Karachi port in June and was paid for in China’s currency.
Pakistan got into Russian agreement in part to save the shriniking foreign exchange reserves, which are used mainly on the imports of oil. It was teetering on the verge of default before securing a 3 billion dollars bailout from IMF late last month.
Malik said that the private entity Pak-Arab Refinery Limited had also been asked to import Russian oil.
Pakistan’s energy imports
Energy imports make up the majority the external payments of Pakistan. Islamabad imported 154,000 barrels per day of oil last year, around the same as a year ago.
