ISLAMABAD: The vessels carrying Russian crude oil and other products would start arriving Pakistan from April this year, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik told Senate Friday.
Replying to the question of Senator Mushtaq Ahmed during question hour in Senate, he said negotiations with National Shipping Corporation (NSC) were going on for transporting Russian oil.
High level meetings were held between Pakistani and Russian delegates on trade of petroleum products in the month of January, 2023. Long-term contract for the import of crude oil to meet up to 20% of Pakistan’s crude oil import requirements is under discussion with Russia.
Matters including commercial terms, crude oil specification, freight arrangements and insurance coverage’s, would be discussed in upcoming meetings.
The details related to import of Russian fuel would be finalized by March next. Imports of oil from Iran would be difficult due to sanctions imposed on Iran.
Currently some trade was going on with Iran on barter basis.
Earlier, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik had said that Russia could start exporting oil to energy-starved Pakistan after March and discussion were underway whether payment could be made in the currencies of “friendly” countries.
Pakistani officials and Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, who was in Islamabad for an annual inter-governmental commission on trade and economy, said the key elements of the deal had yet to be agreed.
It said in October it was considering buying discounted Russian crude, citing neighbouring India, which has been purchasing from Moscow.
“As for the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, we conceptually agreed on the development and signing of an agreement that will determine and resolve all issues of logistics, insurance, payment, volumes,” Shulginov told reporters in Russian, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Shulginov also said “negotiations are going on” about settlement in the currencies of “friendly” countries, meaning non-Western countries that have not imposed economic sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Oil is generally paid for in dollars.
Shulginov said the two sides had “established a timeline of this agreement in our joint statement – which is late March”, according to RIA.
