Pakistan is encouraging its refiners to consider buying crude oil from Libya to diversify its oil supply amid the Middle East crisis, Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik says.
Ali Pervaiz has met with Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek, Minister of Oil and Gas of Libya, on the sidelines of an energy event in Saudi Arabia to discuss strengthening cooperation in the oil and gas sector. During the meeting, the Pakistani minister told his Libyan counterpart that the South Asian country had encouraged its refineries to explore the possibility of importing Libyan crude oil, local media reported.
To boost its energy security, Pakistan also plans to upgrade refineries, build critical infrastructure, and increase domestic oil and gas exploration, both offshore and onshore, the federal minister said.
A Turkish seismic vessel is expected to arrive in Pakistan next month to begin data acquisition in the Indus Basin, Ali Pervaiz said.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s national Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) signed an agreement with a Canadian firm to deploy advanced technology to boost production from heavy crude oil fields.
Under the agreement with Canada’s Synergetic Oil Tools Inc., OGDC will deploy advanced Passive Energy Tool technology aimed at optimizing and boosting production from heavy crude oil fields, the Pakistani firm said.
Since the Iran war crippled oil and fuel supply from the Middle East, Pakistan’s key energy supplier, the South Asian country has paid record premiums for fuel imports, scrambled to procure alternative crude oil supply, and paid the highest price for LNG cargoes since 2022, when spot prices in Asia spiked to record highs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the slashed pipeline gas supply from Russia to Europe.
Pakistan’s refiners have been inquiring with traders about potential crude oil supply from the U.S., Nigeria, and Central Asia, amid the crisis in the Middle East that threatens supply from both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
