Cnergyico is also considering spot \u200bpurchases against longer-term contracts with Vitol and other suppliers<\/p>\n
Cnergyico Pk Limited refinery plant and crude oil storage tanks at the Hub coast in Balochistan province, Pakistan March 18, 2026. \u2014 REUTERS <\/p>\n
Pakistan’s largest refiner, Cnergyico, was buying more US crude as the federal government seeks to diversify the country’s energy supplies after disruptions caused by the war in Iran<\/a> exposed its dependence on Gulf routes.<\/p>\n The government also wants to increase imports from the US to help narrow its trade surplus and secure reductions in trade tariffs<\/a> imposed by President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cnergyico, which first bought<\/a> US crude last year, was also considering spot \u200bpurchases against longer-term contracts with Vitol and other suppliers based on “pricing, reliability \u2060and supply security”, Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters.<\/p>\n Cnergyico imported about 8.1 million barrels of US \u200bcrude over nine months, including 7.1 million worth about $750 million in the fiscal year ended June, \u200bQureshi said.<\/p>\n Read: Pakistan to receive first US oil shipment as Cnergyico signs import deal<\/a><\/p>\n Refiners’ purchases lead US import increases<\/p>\n Pakistan’s US import payments rose by $914 million to $3.27 billion in that fiscal year, central bank data showed, making Cnergyico’s purchases equivalent to about 80% of the increase.<\/p>\n The refiner could increase \u200bUS crude purchases if Pakistan’s proposed EXIM Bank trade-finance facility was extended to it, Qureshi said. Islamabad \u200bpitched the facility<\/a> last month to allow Pakistani buyers to defer payments to US exporters for up to \u200cthree years.<\/p>\n Pakistan mainly imports oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with about 90% of its oil and liquefied natural gas imports passing through Hormuz before the war.<\/p>\n Rising fuel costs have put pressure on the Pakistani government to act, as a new round of protests against inflation \u200band fuel prices erupted \u200bthis week. Islamabad has \u2060also sought alternatives, including Saudi crude via Yanbu<\/a>, located on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.<\/p>\n Qureshi added that Cnergyico was evaluating a second offshore mooring linked \u200bto its storage network to import and export refined products on \u200blarge tankers outside \u2060Karachi’s constrained ports, as part of a $1.2 billion upgrade to meet Euro V standards, cut furnace-oil output and expand capacity to about 200,000 barrels per day.<\/p>\n