KARACHI: Pakistan Refinery Limited will import its first cargo of Nigerian Bonny Light crude from Vitol in September, two sources familiar with the matter said, as Asian refiners shift towards cheaper alternatives to Middle Eastern oil.
The 500,000-barrel, light-sweet crude cargo is expected to load later this month and arrive in Karachi by late September, the sources said, declining to be named as the information is not yet public. The price was not immediately known.
Vitol and PRL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The purchase follows Pakistan’s first deal to import U.S. crude, also supplied by Vitol, by Cnergyico, which is scheduled to arrive in October.
Almost all of Pakistan’s crude imports are sourced from the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
However, along with other Asian refiners, Pakistan’s industry has shown increased interest in recent months in supplies from elsewhere, including U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Kazakh CPC Blend, after Middle Eastern supplies became more expensive.
As early as 2014, Pakistan imported a Nigerian Yoho crude, according to data from Kpler, but the Bonny Light purchase is the country’s first known purchase of Bonny Light, which is valued for its high yields of gasoline and diesel.
Oil is Pakistan’s largest import item, with crude and petroleum products of $11.3 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 representing nearly a fifth of the country’s total import bill.
