Cnergyico imports Pakistan’s first private-sector Russian crude cargo

Pakistan refiner Cnergyico has imported the country’s first private-sector shipment of Russian crude oil, it said on Monday, as the cash-strapped nation takes advantage of Moscow’s discounts on its oil exports. The South Asian nation has started snapping up crude oil that Russia has discounted after its exports were banned from European markets over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Pakistan’s first cargo, imported by the government, arrived in June and a second government-to-government shipment is under negotiation. It had been assumed that private imports would not be commercially viable because, among other things, cargoes have to be split and transferred to smaller ships as Pakistan’s ports cannot handle large tankers. But Cnergyico used its single point mooring, which can accommodate deep-draft tankers, a company spokesman said in response to questions from Reuters. The crude is to be refined at the company’s refinery in the southwestern city of Hub. Processing the 100,000-metric-ton shipment of Urals crude “marks an important milestone for the company and for the country as well,” said the spokesman. “It demonstrates the company’s capabilities and readiness to refine different types and complexities of crude oil.”