Pakistan suspends Russian crude oil purchases

KARACHI – Pakistan has suspended Russian crude oil purchases as local refineries failed to extract as much petrol and diesel out of imported crude, as they produce from Gulf crudes.

Media reports suggest that Islamabad has halted the import of crude oil from Moscow as more furnace oil was yielded than petrol, another plight that adds to the woes of the crisis-hit country that started importing crude from Russia over attractive prices.

Two months after the arrival of the first Russian oil tanker, Pakistan Refinery Limited decided against continue refining imported crude as it yielded less petrol with 20pc more furnace oil than crude oil imported from Gulf states.

The advantages of refining Russian crude oil were said to be limited at the moment, with a larger quantity of export of furnace oil at a lower price can be a good option.

Media reports quoting sources claimed that the financial benefit to the Pakistan Refinery Limited from this import was somewhere between Rs0.50 and Rs1 per litre, which is too little to make any difference.

Import of Russian oil has not made any major changes so far as shipment did not lead to a drop in rates and in contrast, the outgoing government jacked up petrol and diesel rates by up to Rs20 per litre.