MOSCOW: Russia has refused to give Pakistan a 30-40 percent discount on Russian crude oil, saying that it could not offer anything right now as all volumes are committed.
The Pakistan delegation — comprising of State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, joint secretary and officials of the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow — asked for a discount during talks in Moscow, however, Moscow has refused to give Pakistan a 30-40 percent discount on crude oil, citing reasons that volumes had already been booked to oversee a backlog of receipts from other buyers in the market, The News reported on Thursday.
The negotiations came to an impasse, but the Russian side made a commitment to take Pakistan’s demand into consideration and to later communicate its position through diplomatic channels.
It is worth mentioning that Russian oil is cheaper than global oil prices and can be sorted in Pakistani refineries, and one private refinery already has previously used Russian crude oil to produce finished products.
The Russian side also requested Pakistan to first honor its commitment to the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project. The project model under the GTG arrangement has already been finalized, with only a few clauses of the shareholding agreement pending completion.
While Pakistan talks to Russia for a “crude bailout”, it is no secret that the South Asian nation currently has no long-term plans for curbing fuel shortages, and spare supply in the market is rapidly dwindling due to increased demand from other countries.
