Musadik Malik rubbishes reports of crude oil deal with Russia

Minister Petroleum Musadik Malik on Wednesday rejected reports of oil import agreement with Russia.

No agreement has been reached regarding the purchase of crude oil from Russia, Musadik Malik said during his informal media talk.

He said the deregulation of the fuel prices would benefit the masses and added that the final decision about the deregulating the fuel prices would be taken by PM Shehabz Sharif.

Media reports suggested that during the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) meeting being held in Moscow, both countries had agreed to restart the crude oil trade from January 2025 and that Pakistan would import one cargo each month under the government-to-government arrangement.

However, elaborating on the issue, the petroleum minister said that the government wasn’t buying any crude oil cargo from Russia. “We are creating such a framework that the consumer gets cheap oil.”

Pakistan signed a deal with Russia in 2023 to import crude oil that it would then refine locally.

The agreement included a 100,000 metric ton shipment to state-owned Pakistan Refinery Limited (PKRF.PSX), opens new tab.

Under that arrangement, Pakistan paid for the crude at a discounted rate using Chinese yuan.