Pakistan’s largest oil refiner, Cnergyico, is increasing its purchases of United States crude to diversify energy supplies amid Gulf shipping routes disruptions.
Cnergyico, which began importing US crude last year, is weighing additional spot purchases alongside longer-term agreements with Vitol and other suppliers.
According to the media reports, Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi said the company would base its decisions on pricing, reliability and security of supply.
The refiner imported around 8.1 million barrels of US crude over a nine-month period. Of that volume, approximately 7.1 million barrels, valued at about $750 million, were purchased during the fiscal year that ended in June, Qureshi said.
The refiner could further raise its US crude imports if it becomes eligible for Pakistan’s proposed EXIM Bank trade-financing facility. The government introduced the proposal last month, aiming to enable Pakistani importers to delay payments to US exporters for as long as three years.
Pakistan currently sources most of its oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Before the conflict, roughly 90% of the country’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments travelled through the Strait of Hormuz.
Higher fuel prices have increased pressure on the government, with fresh protests over inflation and fuel costs reported this week. Authorities are also examining alternative supply routes, including bringing Saudi crude through Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
Meanwhile, Cnergyico is assessing plans for a second offshore mooring connected to its storage facilities. The facility would allow large tankers to handle crude imports and refined-product exports away from Karachi’s congested ports.
