Pakistan approved a new oil supply agreement between state-owned Pakistan State Oil and Oman's OQ Trading on Monday, as Islamabad moves to strengthen energy security and diversify its petroleum supply arrangements. The Economic Coordination Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, cleared the Sale Purchase Agreement at a meeting the same day.
What does the PSO-Oman oil supply deal involve?
The agreement will promote cooperation between OQ Trading and PSO in the energy sector, finalizing terms under an earlier inter-governmental agreement between Pakistan and Oman. The ECC also approved a separate proposal allowing petroleum products to be imported on foreign suppliers' accounts through customs-bonded storage facilities.
How will the deal strengthen Pakistan's energy security?
The government said the measures would support key elements of its energy security strategy, including greater indigenization, the development of strategic petroleum reserves, and expansion of customs-bonded storage facilities. The policy aims to make the petroleum supply chain more resilient and ensure the timely availability of imported products.
What other decisions did the ECC approve on Monday?
The ECC approved the distribution of wheat stocks held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation to all recipient agencies, comprising 85 percent locally produced and 15 percent imported wheat. The National Food Security and Research Division submitted the proposal, based on a PASSCO board recommendation, to ensure timely disposal of imported stocks. The committee also approved forming a committee to negotiate a settlement for the Roosevelt Hotel's redevelopment in coordination with the union, a proposal submitted by the Defense Division.
The ECC further approved a government guarantee of $153.855 million, in Pakistani rupees, based on a term sheet between PIA Investments Ltd. and National Bank of Pakistan. It cleared a technical supplementary grant of 7.797 billion rupees for the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme, known as the K-IV project, funded through Sindh's Provincial Consolidated Fund. A separate grant of 567.032 million rupees was approved for Frontier Corps Balochistan (South) to support security arrangements linked to the Reko Diq project. The committee considered nine agenda items in total during the meeting.
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