State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Tuesday said the government cannot disclose its contractual terms of oil purchase from Russia, but assured that Pakistan is getting very good rates.
“I do not have the liberty to disclose the commercial terms of our contract with Russia, this is part of our contract,” said Malik, while addressing media persons in Islamabad.
“However, I would challenge to divulge the contractual terms of any country that is purchasing oil from Russia. So why should Pakistan be pressurised to disclose its terms?
“However, we are getting very good rates, the benefit of which would be transferred to the public,” he assured.
His statement comes a day after he said the shipment was paid for in Chinese currency.
Pakistan’s Russian crude shipment paid for in Chinese currency: Musadik Malik
Meanwhile, Malik said the arrival of the first Russian oil cargo in 75 years is a major development. “In a span of months, a cargo of Russian oil reached Pakistan,” he said.
“We have purchased 100,000 tons of Ural Oil from Russia, which is the second lightest crude available. The samples of this crude were already tested to identify whether they can be utilised by our refineries.
“Now we have received a cargo. After this, a continuation of crude oil imports would begin from Russia. Our target is to meet one-third of our oil import needs from Russia, and the discount would be passed on to the consumers,” he said.
On Sunday, the first-ever Russian oil ship ‘Pure Point’ carrying 45,142 metric tons of crude successfully anchored at oil tankers’ berth OP2 of Karachi Port Trust (KPT).
The second shipment of Russian crude oil from Omani port to Pakistan is expected to be completed in the next few days.
Malik noted that the local refineries are built to cater to Arabian light crude. “It is true that our refineries, which are running on old technology of hydro skimming, cannot refine 80%-100% of Russian crude,” he said.
The minister said that the incumbent government has approved a refinery policy, whereas a policy for tight gas, which refers to natural gas reservoirs produced from reservoir rocks, is also in the final stages.
“We are also in advanced stages of talks on a $10 billion investment from a GCC country,” said Malik.
“The government intends to ink a $10 billion contract, before the end of its tenure, so a new oil refinery can be established in Pakistan,” he said.
The Petroleum Minister said that Pakistan has also received a contract from Azerbaijan, which is available to the cabinet.
“Under the contract, the Central Asian country would provide Pakistan a distressed LNG cargo on a monthly basis. The LNG price would be much lower than in the international market,” he said.
“Under the terms of the contract, it would be Pakistan’s choice to accept the cargo or not. However, Azerbaijan would be obligated to provide distress cargo on a monthly basis,” he added.
The minister said days ago, a delegation of officials from Turkmenistan arrived in Pakistan. “We signed a Joint Implementation Plan with them, they (Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf) had four years, but they didn’t sign any contract,” he said.
The minister said that Pakistan has invited European countries to establish LNG manufacturing units in the country. “Pakistan could become a transit route for gas transportation from Central Asian countries to Europe to the energy security of the region,” he said.
Malik said that during his recent visit to the United States, talks were held to bring green hydrogen and ammonia to Pakistan. “One-third of our gas is being consumed by the fertiliser sector,” he said.
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