Khalid Umar Malik
23 May 2023, 15:28 GMT+10
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Following months of negotiations, Pakistan placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a new agreement between Islamabad and Moscow.
Musadik Malik, State Minister for Petroleum, confirmed the news, saying that one cargo will arrive at Karachi port at the end of May.
"The agreement calls for Pakistan to buy only crude oil, not refined oil, and imports are expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day if the first transaction goes smoothly," Malik told Reuters on Wednesday night.
"Our orders are in; we've already placed them," he said.
He stated that the Russian crude would be initially refined by Pakistan's Refinery Limited (PRL), with other refineries joining after a trial run.
A Russian delegation arrived in Pakistan earlier in April to discuss the payment mode.
"Russians raised the issue during the talks about the media reporting of the talks, particularly about the discount in crude oil price and mode of payment, stressing the Pakistani counterparts ensure keeping the deal with Moscow secret as they do not want the disclosure to other Russian crude buyer countries," sources familiar with the matter told the press.
As a result, Pakistan's top officials decided not to reveal the mode of payment or the exact discount.
In January, Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov led a delegation to Islamabad to negotiate the deal, after which he stated that oil exports to Pakistan could begin in March.
However, things were pushed back as the two parties struggled to agree on the deal's payment mode and other aspects.
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationDHAKA, Bangladesh - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 13 members of Grameen Telecom's board of directors, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
FREMONT, California: Brain implant company Neuralink announced that it has received approval from US regulators to begin human brain implant ...
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana: Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has pleaded guilty to more ...
DENVER, COLORADO: A federal judge has ruled that a rural Colorado school district can ban a high school student from ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland has set a record as unemployment fell to 3.8 percent in May, according to the Central Statistics ...
PORTLAND, Maine: Fishermen in the US's only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels, called elvers, have recorded a productive ...
WARSAW, Poland: Plans are underway in Poland to gradually raise the minimum wage twice in 2024. The wage plan has ...
BEIJING, China: China will put into commercial operation its first large passenger airliner, in a bid to challenge western plane ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland's homeowners and businesses expect to see still more reductions in the cost of natural gas as the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, has said the company could consider leaving Europe if it could ...