Pakistan’s refiner expands US crude imports

According to Business Recorder, Cnergyico, Pakistan's largest refiner, is buying more crude from the United States as Islamabad seeks to spread its energy supply sources. Disruption linked to the Iran war showed how heavily the country depended on Gulf shipping routes. Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters the company is also weighing spot purchases alongside longer-term deals with Vitol and other suppliers.

Qureshi said the refiner brought in roughly 8.1 million barrels of American crude over nine months, and the fiscal year ending June accounted for 7.1 million barrels valued near USD 750 million. Central bank figures show US import payments reached USD 3.27 billion in that year, an increase of USD 914 million, and Cnergyico's buying matched roughly 80 percent of that rise. The refiner could expand those purchases if a proposed EXIM Bank trade-finance facility, which would let importers push back settlements by as much as three years, is extended to it.

Before the conflict, 90 percent of Pakistan's oil and LNG imports went through Hormuz, and most of its oil comes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Qureshi also outlined a possible second offshore mooring for large tankers outside Karachi's congested ports, part of a USD 1.2 billion upgrade aimed at Euro V compliance. Fuel costs and fresh protests have added pressure on the government this week.