Cnergyico boosts US oil purchases to cut Hormuz supply risks

Mettis Global reported that Cnergyico, Pakistan's largest refiner, is expanding its purchases of US crude as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz pushes Islamabad to widen its supply sources. The refiner brought in about 8.1 million barrels of US crude during the last nine months, including 7.1 million barrels worth close to $750m in the year to June, according to Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi, as quoted by Reuters.

The company is considering additional spot cargoes or longer-term contracts with Vitol and other sellers, weighing pricing, reliability and security of supply. Imports could rise further if a planned US EXIM Bank trade finance scheme becomes available to the refiner, letting buyers defer payments to American exporters for up to three years. Pakistan's payments for US imports rose by $914m to $3.27bn in the fiscal year, and Cnergyico's crude purchases made up about 80% of that jump.

Most of the country's crude has traditionally come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while roughly 90% of oil and LNG imports had earlier moved through Hormuz. Cnergyico is also assessing a second offshore mooring linked to its storage network, which would let larger tankers load and unload outside congested Karachi ports. This mooring is one element of the $1.2bn refinery upgrade, which targets Euro V fuel standards, lower furnace oil output and capacity of roughly 200,000 barrels per day.