Pakistan ‘considers' buying cheap oil and gas from Iran

• RLNG connections to be restored soon, announces minister.
• Govt passed on more relief than global price reduction: Malik
• Cameras installed at textile mills to address FBR concerns.
  

Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervez Malik said on Sunday that Pakistan was considering purchasing cheap oil and gas from Iran following the end of the Iran-US war and the end of restrictions on Tehran.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, the minister said that petroleum product prices had touched Rs460 per litre in April at the height of the Iran-US conflict, but global prices had since come down significantly.

Washington and Tehran signed the "Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding" in Switzerland’s Burgenstock on June 17, largely mediated by Pakistan.

Under the deal, the United States undertook to immediately issue sanctions waivers through the Treasury Department for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, along with all related services, including banking transactions, insurance and transportation, until sanctions are terminated.

Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had immediately passed on the benefit to the public, adding that the relief provided to consumers was even greater than the reduction seen in global markets. "We gave the people more benefits than what the international market offered," he said.

The minister said the government had made significant reductions in petrol and diesel prices, adding that every single Pakistani had gone through a difficult period. "Difficult times last only for a little while — thank God, that time has passed and better days are coming," he said.

He said the government remained active on further reductions in petroleum prices and would bring them down further as global markets normalised, while staying within the framework of existing international agreements.

He dismissed reports of misleading information being spread about petroleum prices, saying certain elements were trying to confuse the public on the matter.

On oil companies, he said no formal letter had been received from them but that their representatives had met him and shared their concerns, which he said he had listened to.

Malik said he had installed cameras at his own textile mills with the aim of bringing transparency and addressing concerns of the Federal Board of Revenue. He called for cameras to be installed at ginning factories as well on the same grounds.

He also announced that RLNG connections, which had been suspended, would be restored soon.