AsianOil: Pakistan's Cnergyico imports first private sector Russian crude cargo

Pakistan’s Cnergyico announced this week that it had imported a 100,000-tonne cargo of Urals crude from Russia, the first private-sector imports of sanctioned Russian oil into the country.

Cnergyico operates a 156,000 barrel per day refinery at the coastal city of Hub, the largest in the country, and accounts for about a third of refining capacity in Pakistan, which is around 450,000 bpd.

The government imported one cargo of discounted Russian crude in June and is negotiating the purchase of another cargo. The first shipment went to government-owned Pakistan Refinery Ltd. International sanctions restrict the sale of Russia crude in US dollars, prompting Islamabad to arrange a payment for the shipment in Chinese yuan. It is understood that Cnergyico also used yuan to pay Moscow.

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