KARACHI: Pakistan has doubled its oil import cargoes to two million barrels from the United States and will receive the first shipment from its supplier Vitol on October 30, said Usama Qureshi, vice chairman of Cnergyico PK Limited, the country’s largest oil refiner and fuel marketer.
The company, which operates a refinery with a capacity of 156,000 barrels per day, is importing West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light crude for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
The South Asian nation has so far relied on Gulf suppliers, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to meet its energy needs.
“We have booked two cargoes in total,” Qureshi told Arab News on Tuesday. “The first shipment will arrive in Karachi on October 30, followed by the second on November 15.”
The Cnergyico official confirmed that his company had doubled its one-million-barrel oil imports for October and November cargoes.
“Each shipment consists of one million barrels of American crude,” he said.
Cnergyico’s current deal with Vitol came after Pakistan and the US negotiated and struck a trade deal that slashed US President Donald Trump’s 29 percent reciprocal tariffs on Pakistani imports to 19 percent.
The import plan is expected to help Pakistan diversify its crude sourcing and is being seen as part of Islamabad’s efforts to reduce its approximately $3-billion trade surplus with Washington, in line with Trump’s policy.
Cnergyico’s shipments are valued at $150 million, which would further narrow the trade deficit, said Qureshi.
Rabbiya Khalid, a public relations officer at Pakistan’s energy ministry, did not respond to questions seeking her comment.
However, Muhammad Saad Ali, head of research at Lucky Investments Limited, confirmed Islamabad was trying to increase its imports from the US under the new trade deal.
“Pakistan will buy some agricultural products and some petroleum products from the US,” he said. “They are importing US crude on a test basis.”
Last fiscal year, Pakistan imported petroleum products worth $16 billion, which were the largest item on the nation’s $58.4 billion import bill, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
Cnergyico may increase its oil imports from the US if the first test spot cargo is evaluated as commercially viable.
“If the pricing and premiums remain favorable and the gross refining margins are better than those for Arab crudes and other West African lighter crudes, then we may consider further purchases,” he added.
The company is also assessing the viability of potential cargoes for January and February.
“There is no decision yet to buy monthly cargoes,” said the vice chairman of Cnergyico.
The company plans to upgrade its refinery and build a second offshore terminal called a Single Point Mooring to start exports.
Its first mooring has been operational since 2012 and is the only offshore facility in Pakistan that handles large cargoes.
