ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Wednesday rubbished the stories suggesting that Pakistan and Russia had reached an settlement for the provision of discounted crude oil.
Speaking to reporters, Malik stated: “The information of a take care of Russia on crude oil is completely false. No settlement has been reached with Russia relating to such a deal”.
The minister’s rebuttal comes within the wake of rumours claiming that Islamabad had determined to import Russian crude oil at a reduced fee on the provide of Moscow.
Media stories urged that through the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) assembly being held in Moscow, each nations had agreed to restart the crude oil commerce from January 2025 and that Pakistan would import one cargo every month beneath the government-to-government association.
However, elaborating on the difficulty, the petroleum minister stated that the federal government wasn’t shopping for any crude oil cargo from Russia. “We are creating such a framework that the buyer will get low cost oil.”
Touching upon the liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) difficulty, he stated that the nation wouldn’t obtain any extra LNG cargo as a result of an present surplus.
“Pakistan has already postponed 5 of its LNG cargoes and the postponement of 5 extra cargoes is being thought-about additional,” he added.
Revealing the elements contributing in the direction of the LNG surplus, he cited the dearth of buy by the facility crops and stated that the non-public sector was not shopping for LNG as a result of excessive price.
He additionally stated that the gasoline plan for the winter season could be prepared in just a few days.
Malik additionally revealed that Pakistan has signed MoUs value $2.7 billion with Saudi Arabia. According to the federal minister, seven of those MoUs have already reworked into agreements.
He stated that 5 Saudi firms participated in a roadshow held by Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) in Saudi Arabia, with one among them expressing curiosity in investing $1.7 billion in PRL.
Malik added {that a} roadshow for establishing a brand new refinery in Pakistan will probably be held in Saudi Arabia quickly.
The petroleum ministry is presently engaged on the roadshow for the Greenfield refinery undertaking, he famous.
The minister additionally disclosed that an understanding has been reached with Saudi Arabia for the availability of skilled personnel.
Additionally, Saudi firms have proven vital curiosity in investing in Pakistan’s mineral sector, he stated.
