Govt considering cheap oil import from Russia as financial crisis deepens
The federal government has started considering oil imports from Russia in view of rising oil prices in international market and the Ministry of Energy has written a letter seeking opinions from industrial experts’ in this regard.
The Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Energy has written letter to four petroleum companies seeking suggestions on the quantity and quality of petrol imported from Russia, as well as other issues.
The Petroleum Division has written letter to Pak Arab Refinery, National Refinery Limited, Pakistan Refinery Limited and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited seeking suggestions.
The letter asked the companies to conduct a detailed analysis of oil imports from Russia and suggest to the government about the technicalities of crude grade in view of the design and production of each refinery and whether it would be appropriate or not.
In addition to informing the refinery about the quantity and grade of crude oil required, it should also be informed how much it will cost to import oil from Russia in terms of transportation and rent as compared to the oil imported from the Middle East.
The ministry directed in the letter to provide details of existing agreements with the Arab region as well as the payment method.
It should be noted that due to rising global oil prices and the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, the government has recently increased the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs84-150.
