Amid Hormuz disruption
\nCnergyico weighs spot against longer-term supply contracts
\n islamabad
\nPakistan\u2019s largest refiner Cnergyico is buying more US crude as Islamabad seeks to \u200cdiversify the country\u2019s energy supplies after disruption caused by the Iran war exposed its dependence on Gulf routes.
\nPakistan also wants to increase imports from the US to help narrow its trade surplus and secure reductions in trade tariffs \u200bimposed by President Donald Trump.
\nCnergyico, which first bought US crude last year, is also considering spot \u200bpurchases against longer-term contracts with Vitol and other suppliers based on \u201cpricing, reliability and supply security\u201d, Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters.
\nCnergyico imported about 8.1 million barrels of US \u200bcrude over nine months, including 7.1 million worth about $750 million in the fiscal year ended June, \u200bQureshi said.
\nRefiners\u2019 purchases lead US import increases
\nPakistan\u2019s US import payments rose by $914 million to $3.27 billion in that fiscal year, central bank data shows, making Cnergyico\u2019s purchases equivalent to about 80% of the increase.
\nThe refiner could increase \u200bUS crude purchases if Pakistan\u2019s proposed EXIM Bank trade-finance facility is extended to it, Qureshi said. Islamabad \u200bpitched the facility last month to allow Pakistani buyers to defer payments to US exporters for up to \u200cthree years. Pakistan mainly imports oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with about 90% of its oil and liquefied natural gas imports passing through Hormuz before the war.
\nRising fuel costs have put pressure on the Pakistani government to act, as a new round of protests against inflation \u200band fuel prices erupted \u200bthis week. Islamabad has also sought alternatives including Saudi crude via Yanbu, located on Saudi Arabia\u2019s Red Sea coast.
\nQureshi added that Cnergyico was evaluating a second offshore mooring linked \u200bto its storage network to import and export refined products on \u200blarge tankers outside Karachi\u2019s constrained ports, as part of a $1.2 billion upgrade to meet Euro V standards, cut furnace-oil output and expand capacity to about 200,000 barrels per day.
\nFawad Basir, head of research at KTrade Securities, said Middle \u200bEast disruptions highlighted the risks of relying on a single \u200bsupply route. Using Very Large Crude Carriers for US crude could cut freight costs by 25% to 30%, while a \u200bsecond Single Point Mooring would speed vessel turnaround.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Amid Hormuz disruption Cnergyico weighs spot against longer-term supply contracts islamabad Pakistan\u2019s largest refiner Cnergyico is buying more US crude as Islamabad seeks to \u200cdiversify the country\u2019s energy supplies after disruption caused by the Iran war exposed its dependence on Gulf routes. Pakistan also wants to increase imports from the US to help narrow its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-562498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n