ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has denied any agreement for the purchase of crude oil from Russia, refuting media reports suggesting otherwise.
Speaking to journalists in Islamabad, Malik clarified that while discussions on crude oil procurement from Russia were ongoing, no official agreement had been made at the government level.
“There is no agreement with Russia for the purchase of crude oil. We did intend to procure it through a public sector company during the last oil purchase, but this plan was not fully implemented,” Malik explained.
He added that after the first cargo, no further oil was requested by Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), and that the country currently has a surplus of LNG, meaning no new cargoes are being imported.
The minister also emphasized that while talks with Russia continue, Pakistan would not be importing any new oil beyond previous agreements. “We will not be importing any new cargo beyond the previous arrangements,” he said, also mentioning Russia’s interest in offshore oil and gas exploration.
Responding to earlier media claims, Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) also issued a clarification regarding reports that the company had agreed to import discounted Russian crude oil. In a letter to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), PRL stated, “We would like to clarify that no such agreement has been made. We remain committed to transparency and will keep our stakeholders informed of any developments directly through our official channels.”
The clarification follows reports in The News that Pakistan had reached an agreement with Russia to restart crude oil imports from January 2025 under a Government-to-Government (GtG) arrangement, with one cargo to be imported per month. The reports also suggested that PRL would import 12 cargoes of Russian crude oil annually, with a payment mechanism facilitated by the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.
