Pakistan Looks to Import Crude Oil from Libya to Diversify Supply

Pakistan is exploring the possibility of importing crude oil from Libya to diversify its energy supply, amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, says Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik. Malik recently met with Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek, the Minister of Oil and Gas from Libya, at an energy event in Saudi Arabia to discuss bolstering cooperation in the oil and gas industry.

The Pakistani minister informed his Libyan counterpart that Pakistan has encouraged its refineries to consider importing Libyan crude oil, according to local media reports.

In an effort to enhance its energy security, Pakistan plans to upgrade its refineries, construct critical infrastructure, and ramp up domestic oil and gas exploration, both offshore and onshore, Malik stated. Additionally, a Turkish seismic vessel is set to arrive in Pakistan next month to commence data acquisition in the Indus Basin, he added.

Earlier this year, Pakistan's National Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) signed an agreement with a Canadian firm to utilize advanced technology to enhance production from heavy crude oil fields. Under the arrangement with Canada's Synergetic Oil Tools Inc., OGDC will deploy Passive Energy Tool technology to optimize and increase production from heavy crude oil fields, as per OGDC's announcement.

Since the start of the Iran war, which has disrupted oil and fuel supplies from the Middle East, Pakistan, whose primary energy supplier is the country, has been paying record premiums for fuel imports, aggressively seeking alternative crude oil supplies, and paying the highest prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes since 2022.

This surge in prices occurred following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the disruption of Russian gas pipeline deliveries to Europe. Pakistani refiners have been reaching out to traders to discuss potential crude oil supply options from the U.S., Nigeria, and Central Asia, as the Middle East crisis threatens supplies from both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.