As a result of Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik’s announcement on Tuesday that a high-level delegation from Moscow will arrive in Islamabad on January 20, the coalition government is moving forward with its plans to strike a much-anticipated deal for Russian crude oil at a discounted rate.
The minister had stated a day earlier that Russia had agreed to offer Pakistan discounted prices on crude oil, gasoline, and diesel. It turned out that our trip to Russia was more productive than we had anticipated.”
Malik asserted in a statement that the United States will not impose sanctions on Pakistan as a result of the proposed deal.
Malik claimed credit for the proposed deal and stated that the minutes of their meetings with Mosco officials can support their claims, rejecting Imran Khan’s claims that he had talks with Russia about oil imports.
The minister stated in response to a question regarding the county’s financial crisis that the government is not considering declaring an economic emergency. He maintained that the Sukuk bonds were recently purchased by the government for $1 billion.
He insisted that the nation would not fall into default.
‘Russia agreed to export petrol, diesel to Pakistan’
Malik had stated a day earlier that Moscow had agreed to provide Pakistan with cheaper crude oil.
Malik claimed that Russia lacked liquefied natural gas (LNG). We have also engaged Russia’s state LNG producers and are in talks with private Russian companies about the import of LNG, Malik stated.
The state minister claims that talks with Moscow regarding the pipeline projects have made significant progress.
According to sources cited by The News last week, Pakistan’s delegation requested a 30% to 40% discount on Russian crude oil during talks in Moscow, but the Russians refused, stating that all volumes were committed.
Moscow asked Pakistan to first honor its commitment to the flagship project, the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP), which was to be built from Karachi to Lahore, Punjab, during talks about the gas pipeline projects.
The Pakistani team suggested altering the PSGP project’s model in their response. Except for a few terms in the shareholding agreement, which would soon be finalized, the Russian side claimed that the G2G (government-to-government) project model had already been settled.
Malik told the journalists that the country needed 1 percent more energy to meet demand.
In response to a question, he stated that the government would guarantee that homes would continue to receive gas throughout cooking hours. The minister stated, “Compared to the previous year, more gas is being supplied to the domestic sector in December 2022.”