KARACHI
Pakistan’s largest refiner Cnergyico will import 1 million barrels of oil from Vitol in October, its vice chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters on Friday, marking the country’s first-ever purchase of US crude following a landmark trade deal.
The West Texas Intermediate light crude cargo will be loaded from Houston this month and is expected to arrive in Karachi in the second half of October, Qureshi said.
“This is a test spot cargo under our umbrella term agreement with Vitol. If it is commercially viable and available, we could import at least one cargo per month,” he said, adding that the shipment was not meant for resale.
The deal follows months of multiple negotiations which first began in April, he said, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 29% tariffs on imports from Pakistan.
Qureshi said Pakistan’s finance and petroleum ministries encouraged local refineries to explore US crude imports after the April tariff announcement. Vitol did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of office hours.
On Thursday, Pakistan hailed a trade deal struck with the US, its top export market. Pakistan said the agreement would lead to lower tariffs and increased investment, without specifying the level of duties to be levied on Pakistani shipments.
A key China ally, Pakistan has been warming up to Trump after he threatened tariffs. It has credited US diplomatic intervention for ending recent hostilities with neighbouring India and nominated Trump for the Nobel peace prize.
