After months of hype, Pakistan might lastly obtain its first cargo of imported Russian oil later this month. But nearly all of Pakistanis have one query, will the purportedly cheaper Russian oil cut back the gas price in the nation by Rs100 per litre?

This query was posed to Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal in a current interview with Voice of America (Urdu).

When requested whether or not the price of petrol — which had reached a report excessive of Rs282 per litre and presently stands at Rs272 per litre — could be slashed by Rs100 as soon as Russian oil reached Pakistan, the minister responded in the detrimental.

“There might not be a significant difference,” he mentioned. However, the price would “definitely reduce” as soon as Pakistan began importing massive portions of Russian oil, he added.

“At the beginning, the quantity of imported oil is small, but as it increases in six months to a year, it will help reduce petrol prices,” Iqbal mentioned.

Pakistan and Russia had been negotiating an oil deal for months earlier than reaching an settlement in April.

The first cargo of Russian oil is anticipated to dock on the Karachi port in late May, State Minister for Petroleum Mussadik Malik had mentioned final month. The nation would search to import 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil if the primary transaction went easily, he had added.

Initially, the Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) would refine the crude oil in a trial run, to be adopted later by Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and different refineries.

A day earlier, Malik shared that Pakistan plans to import one-third of the nation’s whole crude oil necessities from Russia.

The state minister revealed that the federal government has finalised a complete vitality safety settlement with Russia, which might cowl completely different elements of the vitality provide in the nation.

Malik mentioned: “We want to open an energy corridor with Central Asia like the one we have with Gulf countries.”

“This would reduce the cost of energy in the country and would be helpful in the development of industrial clusters and value additions in the agriculture sector,” he maintained.

The minister revealed that the federal government’s goal is to import 18-20% of its whole crude oil imports from Russia, with the hope that this transfer will considerably decrease petroleum product costs for home shoppers.