Islamabad to wait: a price ceiling uncertainty freezes Russian oil rebate talks

Marcel Salikhov, President of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the negotiations between Russia and Pakistan regarding oil supplies to the Ekonomika Segodnya internet magazine.

The head of the Pakistani Ministry of Finance, Ishak Dar, announced on the eve of the country's intention to agree with Russia on the conditions for importing oil, similar to India.

Pakistan failed to persuade Russia to drop the price of oil by 30-40%. Marcel Salikhov told, why it is too early to consider the issue closed.

Be that as it may, the EU proposal to introduce a price ceiling at $60 per barrel does not look intimidating amid the sale of Urals oil in the range of $60-70, so the Pakistanis may well return to the discount issue, Marcel Salikhov believes.

“We do not know the details of the discount, so it is difficult to judge the reasons for the failure to agree. Maybe the Pakistanis were asking for an even bigger discount, or were counting on a deferred payment or the ability to pay in their own currency. There can be many details hidden from the eyes. In general, there may be geopolitical interests at the government level. But I don’t think that there is a talk about the fact that Russia sells oil to India, but not to Pakistan,” Marcel Salikhov said.

For oil companies there is no difference: to sell fuel to India or Pakistan, and at the level of officials there may be their own, additional political issues. Russia is interested in any buyers, so Pakistan now does not look like a partner that Russia is ready to refuse, the economist concluded.