Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has said.
“Our orders are in, we have placed that already,” he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday night, adding that one cargo of the commodity will dock at the Karachi port in May.
The deal will see Pakistan buy crude oil only, not refined oil, and imports are expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day if the first transaction goes through smoothly, he said.
The minister added that Pakistan’s Refinery Limited will initially refine the Russian crude, with other refineries to be included later after a trial run.
