KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest oil refiner, Cnergyico Pk Limited, said on Thursday it may increase crude oil imports from the United States to as much as $1 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in June, as domestic demand rises during peak summer months.
The plan follows the completion of a $430 million commercial transaction to import six million barrels of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light crude from the US, underscoring the growing role of private-sector energy trade in expanding economic ties between Islamabad and Washington.
“We may book cargoes worth $1 billion by the end of this fiscal year,” Cnergyico Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi told Arab News.
Pakistan has been seeking to expand bilateral trade with the United States, its largest export market, amid efforts to rebalance trade flows and avoid punitive tariffs under President Donald Trump’s trade policy. In July, Islamabad finalized a new trade arrangement with Washington that helped the cash-strapped country avert proposed reciprocal tariffs of up to 29 percent on its exports and bag a deal for 19 percent.
Cnergyico said it has already imported three million barrels of US crude under the current deal, with the remaining three million barrels scheduled to arrive at its offshore Single Point Mooring facility in February and March.
