Pakistan’s Caretaker Energy Minister, Mohammad Ali, has unveiled plans fora potential long-term agreement to annually purchase between 0.7 millionand 1 million tonnes of Russian oil, equivalent to 20,000 barrels per day.
This move comes as a response to the ban on Russian crude oil exports toEuropean markets following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Pakistan aims toexplore opportunities for more cost-effective oil procurement.
In June of this year, the first shipment of Russian crude oil arrived inPakistan, and negotiations are currently in progress for a secondgovernment-to-government cargo.
Notably, Pakistani refiner Cnergyico achieved a historic milestone byimporting the first-ever private-sector shipment of crude oil from Russia.Pakistan has been facing challenges related to high inflation, a foreignexchange crisis, and difficulties in securing liquefied natural gas (LNG)at reasonable prices, stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine andsubsequent high LNG prices that led to widespread power outages.
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In an effort to diversify its energy sources at more favorable rates,Islamabad was planning to discuss a long-term program for importingdiscounted crude oil from Russia in early October.
A Pakistani delegation, led by the interim energy minister, was scheduledto participate in the Russian Energy Week 2023, held from October 11–13 inMoscow.