A delegation led by Musadik Malik, state minister for petroleum, has flown to Russia to discuss the agreement about the import of crude oil at cheaper prices.
The acquisition of crude oil from Russia at a cheaper price will help Pakistan to combat skyrocketing fuel prices. The delegation included state minister for petroleum Musadik Malik, Secretary petroleum Muhammad Mahmood and others and they aim to discuss cooperation between the capitals of two countries regarding petroleum and gas.
Moreover, the discussion will include the plan about construction of Pak-stream gas line.
Earlier, Federal Finance minister Ishaq Dar said, “ we should pray the visit is successful and government manage to secure a deal on favourable terms and conditions.”
The crude oil and gas pipeline deal is said to be a crucial matter for Pakistan since the price hike in petroleum sector has effected the economy as the country majorly depends on petroleum to meet the energy needs. This price hike has led to an increase in prices of energy commodities which has left a negative impact on industrial as well as domestic sector.
According to State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan has imported petroleum products worth $7.547 billion during the first four months of the fiscal year.
Read More: Government struggles for $1.18 billion IMF tranche
While answering to a question, Secretary for petroleum division, Hamid Hameed said, “At present Russia has not offered to supply gas to Pakistan.”
However, he further added that Government of Pakistan has written a letter to Russia on October 11th to convey the interest of the country to get two to three cargoes of LNG for the month of December and for the January 2023 at lower prices and differed payment facility.
According to official reports, importing crude oil and gas from Russia at discounted prices would help Pakistan in saving nearly $ 1 billion an year. However, this could be increased but due to limited number of oil refineries and their long term contracts with middle Eastern oil companies there are low probability of saving more than this.
