Pakistan places first order for Russian crude oil: Musadik Malik

ISLAMABAD: As part of a new agreement reached between Islamabad and Moscow, Pakistan has made its first order for discounted Russian crude oil after months of negotiations.

Musadik Malik, the state minister for petroleum, announced that one cargo will dock at Karachi port in May, confirming the news. If the first transaction goes off without a hitch, imports from Pakistan are anticipated to reach 100,000 barrels per day, according to Malik, who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday evening. He declared, “Our orders are in; we already placed that.” According to him, Pakistan’s Refinery Limited (PRL) will refine the Russian crude initially, with the addition of other refineries later after a trial run.

Earlier this month, a delegation from Russia arrived in Pakistan to hold talks regarding the payment mode.

“Russians during the talks have raised the issue over the reporting of the talks in the media particularly about the discount in crude oil price and mode of payment stressing the Pakistani counterparts to ensure keeping the deal with Moscow secret as they do not want the disclosure to other Russian crude buyer countries,” sources privy to the matter told The News.

Therefore, Pakistan’s top functionaries also decided not to disclose the mode of payment and the exact discount.

Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov led a delegation to Islamabad in January to hold talks on the deal, after which he said oil exports to Pakistan could begin after March.

However, things got delayed as the two sides struggled to reach a consensus on the payment mode along with other aspects of the deal.