Voice of America
21 Jan 2023, 04:07 GMT+10
Islamabad - Russia said Friday it had reached 'conceptual agreements' with Pakistan on the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, noting the two sides also agreed the payments will be made in 'currencies of friendly countries.'
Visiting Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov made the announcement at a news conference in Islamabad following meetings with his Pakistani counterparts at an annual intergovernmental commission on bilateral trade and economic issues.
'We have already decided to draft an agreement to sort out all the issues that we have with regard to transportation, insurance, payments and volumes. These issues are in the final stage of the agreement,' said Shulginov.
'We have already established a timeline of this agreement by the end of March,' the Russian minister added. 'And we have agreed that the payments will be made in the currencies of friendly countries,' he said without elaborating.
Oil and energy account for the largest portion of Pakistan's imports and the country is currently facing a severe balance of payments crisis. Islamabad's foreign exchange reserves have lately depleted to about $4.6 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of imports - mostly for oil.
'Both sides agreed that after consensus on the technical specification achieved, the oil and gas trade transactions will be structured in a way it has mutual benefit for both countries,' according to a joint statement issued Friday after the commission's meetings.
Pakistan has also been unable to procure liquified natural gas, or LNG, from the international market to meet domestic needs because spot prices remain out of their range.
Islamabad has been trying to purchase LNG from Moscow, but Shulginov said Friday that Russia couldn't supply the product on short-term deals.
'The LNG volumes in Russia are mostly committed to long-term contracts,' he said. 'We have decided that it would be a good idea for Pakistan to approach Gazprom and Novatek, [Russia's] two largest LNG-producing companies in late 2023 to discuss the conditions when they have spare capacities.'
Pakistan has traditionally not been a major importer of Russian oil. Most of its oil supplies come from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan's junior oil minister, Musadik Malik, was quoted by Russian and local media on Friday as saying that his country annually purchases about 70 million barrels of crude oil and would like to import 35% of it from Russia.
Get a daily dose of Sports Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sports Sun.
More InformationThe Denver Nuggets hope to capitalize on an advantage given them by the NBA schedule-maker when they host the travel-weary ...
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to bounce back from a rare home loss when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. ...
The Boston Celtics didn't do much wrong in the opening quarter and breezed to a 139-96 home victory over the ...
Dejounte Murray recorded 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks never trailed while drubbing the host ...
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and rookie Walker Kessler had a big game on both ends ...
Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed no regrets Wednesday about the team's ...
The PGA Tour makes the 14th of 44 regular-season stops in the FedEx Cup season at one of the world's ...
Hall of Fame NFL executive Bobby Beathard, an architect of four Super Bowl titles for two different teams, has died ...
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is teaming up with the American Heart Association on an initiative promoting CPR. Hamlin had ...
He inspired, confounded and dominated peers for 23 years in the NFL, but Tom Brady insists he's leaving for real ...
The San Francisco quarterback room just got smaller as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan signaled Wednesday that Jimmy Garoppolo will ...
Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours. PGA ...