Pakistan has reportedly stopped importing crude oil from Iran following the US and UN sanctions on the neighbouring country, a private news channel reported Friday. Sources privy to the development claimed that the Pakistani banks were not opening Letter of Credits (LCs) for importing crude oil from Iran due to the US and United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Though there is no official confirmation of the development, the sources have asserted that following the refusal of banks to open LCs, crude oil imports from Iran have been stopped. "Pakistan was importing 65,000 tons of crude oil from Iran," the sources said. On the other hand, the sources said that Pakistan was now considering importing petroleum products from India.
They said that India had offered Pakistan to lay a supply line provided Islamabad gave a long-term guarantee to import products from India. India has excess refining capacity and is exporting petrol and diesel and other petroleum products to various countries of the world, including some European states.
"We proposed exporting petroleum products and petrol to Pakistan. They have shown interest. We will work out the details in the next few weeks," petroleum minister S. Jaipal Reddy said after meeting Pakistan's oil minister Dr Asim Hussain.
BR Monitoring Desk adds: It was in November 2011 that the federal government clarified that there was no restriction on Pakistan in relation to import of oil from Iran. The government, however, admitted that there were some banks (related to the US) that were reluctant to open LCs for oil import. The government also clarified that the Iranian crude was no longer compatible with oil available in Pakistan. According to the government, there was a single refinery in Karachi which refined Iranian crude until it closed down due to some technical reasons. Hence, Iranian crude is no longer relevant in country's overall oil imports.
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