Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude with one cargo scheduled to arrive at Karachi port in May, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Energy Minister Musadik Malik confirmed the transaction late Wednesday. “Our orders are in, we have placed that already,” he said, adding that “we will be getting only crude, not refined oil”.
He mentioned that the Russian crude will be refined initially by Pakistan’s Refinery Limited (PRL), with other refineries joining later after initial trials.
Pakistan will purchase crude oil only and not refined fuels, and imports are expected to go as high as 100,000 barrels per day if the first transaction goes smoothly.
It is pertinent to mention here that back in January, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik said that Pakistan and Russia have agreed on late March as the timeline for the crude oil deal.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, who led Moscow’s delegation to Islamabad to negotiate the deal, said at the time that oil exports to Pakistan could begin in March.