A Russian oil vessel ‘Clyde Noble’ carrying crude oil reached Karachi on Tuesday and is currently anchored at the Karachi Port, reported Aaj News.
“As soon as the berthing plan of the ship is finalised, the work of bringing it to the oil pier will start,” said the report.
In June, the first cargo carrying over 45,000 metric tons of Russian crude oil, arranged under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow earlier this year, arrived in Karachi.
Pakistan paid for its first government-to-government import of discounted Russian crude in Chinese currency, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik told Reuters back then.
Malik said that the purchase, Pakistan’s first government-to-government (G2G) deal with Russia, consisted of 100,000 tonnes. Pakistan made the purchase back in April.
Days ago, Malik negated stories on social media that Russian crude oil arrived in Pakistan from India. He said it was Russian crude which would be refined by Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL).
The Russian crude will first be refined by the PRL in a trial run. The Pak-Arab Refinery (Parco) and private refineries would also start receiving the shipments, he said.
The PRL experts confirmed that this fuel could be used after blending with Arabian light crude: 30-35 percent Russian fuel could be mixed with the Arabian light crude, which meant that this fuel could account for one-third of Pakistan’s fuel needs.
Oil and energy make up the largest portion of Pakistan’s import bill and the country is struggling with a balance of payments crises due to dwindling foreign reserves.
Meanwhile, the South Asian nation has also struggled to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international market because of high spot prices, adding to its ongoing energy woes.
Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), a government subsidiary that procures LNG from the international market, did not receive offers for six cargoes on a delivered-ex-ship (DES) basis for October and December delivery to Port Qasim.
With dwindling local gas reserves, the country has been rationing supplies to residential and commercial consumers.