Pakistan and India would hold second round of talks on possible import of various Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL) products on July 12-13 in New Dehli, sources told Business Recorder on Saturday. According to sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, during the two-day talks, both the countries would discuss the possibility of importing petroleum products from India.
Sources said that Pakistan had shown interest in importing furnace oil, diesel, jet fuel and petrol from India during the first round of talks held in Islamabad from May 28-29. Sources said that India had informed Pakistan that it could meet Pakistan's petroleum products requirements and both countries would decide the price and route in New Dehli next month.
According to officials, Pakistan is going to import oil in large quantity and if approved the product would be transported through Karachi port, instead of land route - the Wagha border. In Islamabad last month, India showed interest in purchasing around 60,000 tons of naphta from Pakistan given India's huge additional refining capacity of crude oil per year.
Pakistani delegation would be headed by Joint Secretary Ministry of Petroleum Shabir Ahmed. "We are going to India with (an) open mind and would discuss and identify possible routes and quantity of oil products Pakistan is interested in purchasing from India. Hopefully, both the countries are likely to decide about the price and route," an official told Business Recorder.
In response to this correspondent's query, the official said that the prices would be agreed upon in accordance with international practice, adding that market forces determined oil prices across the globe. In the last meeting both countries discussed matters, including identification of products, specifications, volume, supply sources and transportation mechanism to be adopted by the two countries.