The Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday that it is currently verifying the facts after the Russian embassy in Pakistan tweeted that Russia had made its first-ever Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) delivery to Pakistan.
Late on Tuesday, the Russian embassy posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that 100,000 tons of LPG had been transported to Pakistan through Iran’s Sarakhs Special Economic Zone, and negotiations for a second shipment were in progress.
Energy imports account for a significant portion of Pakistan’s external payments, and buying discounted fuel from Russia offers some relief as Islamabad faces a severe balance of payments issue, which could potentially lead to a default on its external debt.
Earlier this year, Pakistan received its first shipment of Russian crude oil through a deal established between the two countries.
In January 2023, a Russian delegation visited Islamabad to discuss and finalize the agreement. During the three-day meeting, both countries agreed to resolve technical matters, such as insurance, transportation, and payment mechanisms, with the goal of signing an agreement by late March of this year.
According to a joint statement issued by both parties at the time, “the oil and gas trade transaction will be structured in a way that ensures mutual economic benefits for both countries.”
In response to the Russian embassy’s claim, the energy ministry stated that the LPG being imported by private entities from Iran via a land route may be of Russian origin. However, the government itself does not import the fuel.
The Russian embassy has not provided any comment in response to an email request.
Nevertheless, market insiders, industry experts, and official sources have questioned the size of the consignment, suggesting that such a large quantity of LPG would require around 4,000 containers to transport, making it unlikely to have been delivered by road.
A source in the industry based in Moscow mentioned that LPG shipments from Russian plants, primarily owned by Gazprom, to Sarakhs between February and April amounted to approximately 5,000 tons.
“We do not know which portion of these 5,000 tons was delivered from Sarakhs to Pakistan,” the source added.
During the crude oil deal, Moscow stated that Pakistan would need to make any LPG purchases through the Russian private sector.
Pakistan has stated that it paid for the Russian crude oil in Chinese currency, although the specific value of the agreement was never disclosed.