Pakistan paid for its first government-to-government import of Russian crude in Chinese currency, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik said on Monday, a significant shift in its US dollar-dominated export payments policy.

The first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil arranged under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow arrived in Karachi on Sunday. It is currently being offloaded at the port.

First-ever crude-laden Russian ship arrives

Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, talking to Reuters by phone, did not disclose the commercial details of the deal, including pricing or the discount that Pakistan received.

“We’ve run iterations of various product mixes, and in no scenario will refining this crude make a loss,” Malik said.

“We are very sure it will be commercially viable.”

Earlier, Business Recorder reported the first-ever Russian oil ship carrying over 45,000 metric tons of crude arrived at Karachi Port on Sunday.

The port sources confirmed that the Russian ship ‘Pure Point’ carried 45,142 metric tons of crude, anchored at oil tankers’ berth OP2 of Karachi Port Trust.

Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude in a trial run. After refining, PRL will submit the test report to the government on the Russian crude’s quality, yields and commercial viability. The PRL’s test report will help the government to assess the transportation and refining costs and margins for refineries.