MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has agreed in principle to invest in an oil refinery in Pakistan, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said, without providing further details, as per Reuters.
But a Saudi delegation visit ended with no economic lifeline for the South Asian nation’s looming foreign currency crisis.
Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said talks had not sought deferred oil payments, contradicting an earlier statement by the finance minister.
Pakistan may need to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its second bailout in five years, though the government of new Prime Minister Imran Khan is seeking alternatives.
In the Gwadar refinery agreement, state-owned Pakistan State Oil will partner with Aramco, the Saudi state oil giant, Petroleum Minister Khan said.
Details of the refinery’s costs and capacity are to be finalised after a Memorandum of Understanding approved by Pakistan’s cabinet on Thursday is finalised, he added.
Gwadar, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, is the crown jewel of China’s $60 billion investment in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Pakistan.
MRC