Federal Minister for Petroleum, Musadik Masood Malik, clarified on Wednesday that no formal agreement has been reached regarding the purchase of crude oil from Russia, despite ongoing negotiations. His statement comes after media reports suggested that such an agreement had already been made. Malik explained that while there had been discussions about importing crude oil through a public sector company, the plan had not materialized into an official deal.
The minister further noted that after the first cargo, Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) had not placed any new orders for crude oil from Russia, largely due to the country’s current surplus of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). As a result, no additional oil cargoes have been sourced from any country at this time. Although negotiations with Russia continue, Malik emphasized that no new shipments will be made outside of existing agreements.
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In related remarks, Musadik Malik revealed that Pakistan had postponed five LNG cargoes from Qatar and that ongoing discussions are aimed at ensuring no additional LNG cargoes will be ordered from Qatar next year. He also mentioned that the government is working on a framework to deregulate petroleum product prices, a move expected to provide immediate relief to consumers through price reductions. Additionally, with the global decrease in LNG prices due to excess supply, there are expectations that the domestic market could also benefit from these trends.
