Islamabad
\nPetroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Sunday said plans were underway to launch a scheme with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar for oil storage to strengthen energy security.
\nPakistan has been planning to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, it emerged in May. With no strategic petroleum reserves, the country has been left exposed to oil supply shocks resulting from the US-Iran war that has choked supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
\nAddressing a press conference in Lahore today, Malik said: \u201cI am grateful to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar that we will have a bonded scheme with them, under which these countries will store their oil on the secure territories of Pakistan at their own cost, and supply to the entire world from here.\u201d
\nThe minister said the \u201ccommercial bonded scheme drafted with the help of Aramco and other major companies\u201d has been forwarded to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) upon the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.<\/p>\n
He added that Pakistan will have the right that in the case of a conflict, it could \u201cbuy those resources from them by paying for them and fulfil our needs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen, God-willing, a decision is made on it next week, you will see the progress,\u201d he added, asserting that Pakistan\u2019s energy needs will be fulfilled \u201cwithout spending money and despite a lack of resources\u201d.
\nThe US-Israel war on Iran has caused oil supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blockaded, leading to unprecedented hikes in petroleum prices.
\nThe minister said the government was committed to strengthening energy security. He noted that $500 million were required for storing crude oil reserves for one month, in addition to $300-400m needed for an underground storage system.
\nHe said the government would later debate whether the country could invest this amount, adding that the leadership would work on it in the upcoming months.
\nHighlighting Pakistan\u2019s energy challenges, Malik said the country imported around 90 per cent of its energy requirements, while domestic oil production stood at approximately 70,000 barrels per day against a daily demand of around 500,000 barrels.
\nHe stressed the need to accelerate indigenous oil and gas exploration to reduce reliance on imports.
\nHe said the prime minister and the field marshal had tasked a leading international company with preparing a comprehensive roadmap for the country\u2019s energy sector, which would be presented to the national leadership in the coming months.
\nMalik also said Turkiye\u2019s Turkish Petroleum would soon commence offshore drilling operations in Pakistan\u2019s territorial waters, paving the way for significant foreign investment in the energy sector.
\nHe announced that tenders for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would open on Monday and said the government had made arrangements to issue new gas connections to facilitate consumers.
\nSpeaking on international developments, Malik said that despite economic pressures from the US-Iran war, the government ensured uninterrupted fuel supplies across the country and made \u201cevery effort\u201d to protect consumers from the full impact of rising global prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Sunday said plans were underway to launch a scheme with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar for oil storage to strengthen energy security. Pakistan has been planning to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, it emerged in May. With no strategic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n