Pakistan’s Proposed Oil Deal with Russia in Limbo as Issues Remain Unresolved

The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has warned that the procurement of Russian crude oil involves certain issues due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis. The ministry has also highlighted that technical, commercial, and transportation viability also needs to be considered before the import of Russian crude. Despite ongoing efforts to procure Russian crude, as per the preliminary assessments, different types of crudes are produced in Russia which are heavier than those currently being used by the local refineries. The ministry said that detailed technical, commercial, and transportation viability analysis needs to be carried out before finalizing the import of oil from Russia. Official documents of the Division also reveal that at present, no imports of crude oil and petroleum products are made from Iran due to international sanctions. Moreover, in the presence of sanctions, any imports from Iran may trigger serious issues which may not be in the country’s interests. Pakistan intends to import natural gas from Iran through Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project. However, due to international sanctions on Iran, the project activities are stalled. However, Pakistan is still committed to the project and as soon as international sanctions on Iran are lifted, the project activities can be restarted.