Russia has offered to provide blended crude oil to Pakistan as the country’s refining sector is not able to process crude oil of one specification, according to sources.
The Russian side made an offer during a virtual meeting held between the authorities on Thursday. The offer is part of a crude oil supply of 100,000 barrels per day.
The Pakistani side, led by State Minister for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik, was made up of senior officials from the Petroleum Division and oil industry representatives, while the Russian side was made up of senior officials from the Energy Ministry and relevant departments.
Sources privy to the proceedings of the meeting told The News that the Pakistani authorities told their Russian counterparts that the country needed crude oil, petroleum products, gas, and investment in infrastructure.
The Russian side told the Pakistani authorities that they were ready to work with them and would further deliberate upon it when a delegation from Russia visited Pakistan in the third week of January 2023.
They also stated that Russia would supply 100,000 barrels of crude oil to Pakistan on a daily basis. However, the Pakistani authorities told them that the country’s refineries were hydro-skimming and processing light crude oil. They added that they would be more interested in light crude oil to process it efficiently.
