Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik clarified on Wednesday that no agreement has been reached regarding the purchase of crude oil from Russia, despite ongoing talks.
The minister’s statement comes after media reports had circulated claiming that an agreement had been reached with Russia for the purchase of crude oil.
Addressing the media, Musadik Malik stated that recent discussions surrounding the procurement of crude oil from Russia had not resulted in a formal agreement.
He explained that while there was an attempt to purchase oil through a public sector company, this initiative had not come to fruition.
Malik further explained that the government aimed to provide oil to refineries at international market prices. "There was an idea to import oil by creating a subsidiary, but that plan could not be completed," he added.
Read also: Pakistan signs long-term oil purchase agreement with Russia
He stressed that after the first cargo, the Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) did not place any further orders for crude oil from Russia, citing a current surplus of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the country. As a result, no new oil cargoes are being sourced from any country.
The petroleum minister confirmed that negotiations with Russia are still ongoing, but noted that no official agreement has been made at this point for the order of additional crude oil cargoes.
"We will continue talks, but as of now, no new cargoes will be taken apart from the previous agreements," he said.
On a related matter, Musadik Masood Malik also discussed the country's energy imports, revealing that Pakistan had postponed five LNG cargoes from Qatar. He stated that ongoing discussions are focused on ensuring that no further LNG cargoes are ordered from Qatar next year.
Malik also mentioned that the government is working on a framework to deregulate petroleum product prices, which he said would benefit the public immediately through price reductions.
He further highlighted that the international market has seen a decrease in LNG prices due to excess supply, a trend that could result in further benefits for the domestic market.
