Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Monday said Russia had agreed to provide crude oil as well as petrol and diesel to Pakistan at discounted rates.
A Pakistan delegation comprising State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Secretary Petroleum Capt (retd) Muhammad Mahmood, Joint Secretary and officials of the petroleum division was in Moscow to explore possibilities of buying Russian crude oil and other petroleum products at discounted rates. During a press conference the minister said Russia will export crude oil to Pakistan and diesel and petrol at discounted rates, which is good news for the country’s economy. “Russia will give the same discount to Pakistan as it is giving to the world on oil and petrol.”
Linking the development with addressing the energy needs, he said the incumbent government is trying to fix the ill economy due to the ‘wrong’ policies of the PTI government.
Malik said Russia did not have Liquefied Natural Gas. “Talks with Russia private firms are underway for the import of LNG, while we have also engaged Russia’s state LNG producers,” Malik said. According to the state minister, significant progress has been in talks over the pipeline projects with Moscow. Russia has invited Pakistan for finalization the agreement for 2025-26, he added. The agreement for the import of oil at a cheap price will help Pakistan save dollars and tackle skyrocketing fuel prices.
The delegation led by Musadik Malik left for Moscow, last week, to discuss cooperation between Islamabad and Moscow in the petroleum sector.
Talking to the journalists, Malik said the country required one percent additional energy to meet the demand. To a question, he said the government would ensure uninterrupted gas supply to households during cooking hours. “More gas is being supplied to the domestic sector in December 2022 compared to the last year,” the minister said.
