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Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Sunday that Pakistan is in contact with Iranian officials regarding the potential purchase of crude oil and other energy products from Iran, following a temporary easing of US sanctions on Tehran.
Speaking to journalists in Lahore, the minister said Pakistan would acquire as much crude oil and other energy products from Iran as possible, provided the arrangement proves beneficial for the country. “Iran is our brotherly, neighbouring country, and we will make every effort to benefit from this opportunity,” he said.
The development follows a recent decision by the US Treasury Department to grant Iran a 60-day window to export and sell crude oil and petrochemical products, under a memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran.
Responding to a question about purchasing crude oil from Iran, Malik noted that Iranian crude is heavy crude oil, which presents certain technical challenges in usage. However, he said Pakistan was in talks with Iranian authorities to explore how this crude could be blended to provide affordable fuel for the Pakistani public, describing it as a technical matter. Heavy crude oil typically yields a higher proportion of furnace oil during refining.
The minister further noted that Iran itself imports petrol and diesel from Turkmenistan and other countries, as it lacks sufficient domestic refining capacity for its own crude oil.
He added that Pakistan currently imports three to four thousand tonnes of LPG daily from Iran, and that efforts are underway to increase this volume in order to help ease LPG shortages in the country.
On a question regarding the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, the petroleum minister said the matter is currently under arbitration at a court in Paris.
— This report is based on statements made by the federal petroleum minister to the press in Lahore.
