There is no formal evidence in the petroleum division of Russia’s offer of inexpensive LNG, crude oil, and POL products, as former Prime Minister Imran Khan has often claimed.
Syed Zakria Ali Shah, Joint Secretary of Development and a spokesman for the Petroleum Division, stated this to a reporter.
According to sources in the petroleum sector, trading of crude oil, POL products, and LNG was not even on the table when Khan discussed the purchase of LNG. There was no mention in the meeting minutes of any Russian offer of providing LNG and gasoline at a 30 per cent lower rate.
According to the spokesman, the government wrote letters to Russia on March 30 through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in reference to the February 2022 visit of a Pakistan delegation, expressing Pakistan’s desire to enter long-term agreements on the import of crude, POL products, and LNG at discounted rates.
The Petroleum Division also wrote to the Foreign Ministry, asking if Russia had provided any lower tariffs on LNG and fuel items. He also stated that it had given two reminders to this effect in the first week of April 2022, but the ministry stated that it had not received any letter from Russia for conversation in this respect.
The Former energy minister, Hammad Azhar attracted the attention of his Russian peer, in a letter dated March 30, 2022, to an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on LNG cooperation that had been in force between the two friendly nations since 2017. The Russian minister was informed that Pakistan was willing to strengthen its partnership by expediting negotiations between the two selected nominees so that a long-term agreement for LNG delivery on a G2G basis could be reached as soon as possible.
Then-energy-minister recommended two to three Russian LNG cargoes each month, each holding 140,000 cubic metres of LNG.
There was no mention of any Russian offer in that letter, only a request for negotiation on a long-term contract for the import of gasoline and LNG at a reduced rate.
According to officials at the energy ministry, India has been purchasing crude oil from Russia for decades and has continued to do so despite EU and US sanctions imposed as a result of its conflict with Ukraine. They claimed that India’s foreign policy was largely independent due to its strong economic power and enticing market for large economies.
They further claimed that India had obtained a special dispensation from the US from its sanctions against Iran and had been buying crude oil and POL products from Iran despite US and UN sanctions for a long time. They claimed that India was the US’s strategic partner in the area against China.
“India always pitches its argument before the US saying if it does not import fuel from Iran, its economy will hurt and it will never be on a par with China. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is not possible to import crude oil, POL products, and LNG at discounted rates even in the wake of EU and US sanctions on Russia, as the country’s economic muscle is very weak and the country is always dependent on the IMF programme”. The officials said that Pakistan had also failed to complete the IP gas line project just because of US and UN sanctions on Iran.
Via: The News
