Moscow has offered Pakistan LNG supplies, a Russian news outlet reported Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as saying after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
“Some time ago there was a mutual interest in the supply of Russian liquefied natural gas through the Gazprom, Rosneft, and Novatek companies,” the minister said. Adding, “Appropriate proposals have been made, we expect a reaction from our Pakistani partners.”
The minister added that other prospects for Russian-Pakistani energy cooperation were also discussed, in particular the North-South gas pipeline project.
“We have a corresponding intergovernmental agreement of 2015, now some issues are being clarified that will become part of the protocol to this agreement,” the Russian foreign minister said. Adding that as soon as the Pakistani side signs the protocol, it will be possible to start work.
The North-South gas pipeline is supposed to connect the terminals for receiving liquefied gas in the port city of Karachi in the south of Pakistan with Lahore in the north.
Its length will be 1.1 thousand kilometers, and its throughput capacity will be up to 12.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The project is being carried out by the Russian company RT – Global Resources, which is part of the state corporation Rostec.
Lately Russia is showing more interest in helping Pakistan in these troubled times. It would be better for Pakistan to improve relations with Russia rather than sticking with our old so called allies, who have not given any significant benefit to us for decades.