State Minister for Petroleum Mussadik Malik has said that the government is planning to buy one-third of Pakistan’s total crude oil demand from Russia.
The government has negotiated a comprehensive energy security deal with Russia, which would cover several areas of the country’s energy supply, the state minister told journalists after attending an event in Karachi.
The minister said, “We aim to establish a similar energy corridor with Central Asia as we do with the Gulf nations.”
He insisted that this would lower energy costs countrywide and aid in the growth of industrial clusters and value-added activities in the agricultural industry.
Malik declined to reveal the business transaction when questioned about the lower price of the imported Russian crude oil, citing contractual responsibilities.
He said that the government wants to import 18–20 percent of all of its crude oil from Russia in the hopes that doing so will significantly reduce the cost of petroleum products for citizens to purchase.
He added that the agreement with Russia was clearly crafted within four to five months and would ease the burden on the general public by lowering domestic oil costs.
Earlier during the occasion, Malik stated that a thorough energy security deal covering many facets of the country’s energy supply will be finished by the end of this year.
He said that it will include information on where LNG and crude oil are obtained, how they are moved around the country, and how customers are provided with them.
He said the deal would encompass energy imports from other countries as well as Russia and the Central Asian States.
The minister said that the government wants to attract fresh investment and integrate it into the global value chain. He said that Pakistan is a trustworthy nation and a gateway to Central Asia. “We want to convey to the world that Pakistan is the best place to realize Central Asia’s untapped oil and gas potential,” he added.
Malik said the government has also completed the national refinery policy, which would result in an investment of $10 billion in the refining industry. The details of the $10 billion investment plan, which will be unveiled very soon by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, cannot now be divulged, he added.
