Pakistan to test Russian Oil

May 23, 2023

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According to a news report, Pakistan is awaiting a report from Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) regarding the refinement of a test cargo of URAL crude from Moscow. The decision on a potential government-to-government (GtG) agreement with Russia for the import of crude oil will be made based on the findings of this report. An official from the Energy Ministry stated, “PRL will submit to the government the yields of URAL crude, including the production percentages of petrol, diesel, FO, Light Diesel Oil (LDO), and kerosene oil, as well as its quality and its commercial viability for Pakistan’s economy.”

The test cargo will provide valuable information to the government about the cost per barrel for transportation, refining expenses, refinery margins, and the efficiency of the payment mechanism. It has been determined that Pakistan will make payments in yuan through the Bank of China.

The official mentioned that a Russian vessel carrying 750,000 barrels of URAL crude oil is en route to Pakistan and is expected to arrive at a Pakistani port by the end of May or in the first week of June. Additionally, Russia has offered Pakistan a blend of URAL with SKOL and ESPO crude oil, subject to refining the test cargo, as part of a long-term import agreement under the GtG mode. This offer is due to Russia’s shortage of SKOL and ESPO crude oil.