Pakistan on Friday sought immediate supply of petrol from India through the land route to meet the widening deficit and flaring demand. New Delhi readily agreed in principle.
“I met Petroleum Secretary G.C. Chaturvedi and discussed the issue of import of petrol from India,” Pakistan Secretary for Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry told journalists on the sidelines of the Seventh Asia Gas Partnership Summit here.
Both sides also discussed the supply of Indian petrochemical products to Pakistan. It was decided that officials of both countries will meet next month to finalise the modalities for making the supplies.
India has indicated that it will supply petrol from Bhatinda, where Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is about to commission a refinery. Indian Oil Corporation has hinted at supplying petrol, diesel and petrochemical products from its depot at Bhatinda and from the Mathura and Panipat refineries.
Mr. Chaudhry said Pakistan at present wanted only petrol. However, a major hurdle was fuel specification — while Pakistan sold Euro-II grade fuel, Indian refineries produced petrol and diesel that met Euro-III & IV standards.
Referring to diesel and jet fuel, he said: “When we need jet fuel or diesel, our first port of call will be India.”
Talks were on to put in place a dedicated pipeline for fuel supplies in future, he noted.
Mr. Chaudhry also discussed the transit fee to be paid for the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
Pakistan was keen on importing gas too from India, he added.
Excellent strategy adopted by India .We should cite the example of china , who are making indian markets dependent on chinese products so much so that now both the economies are heavily dependent on each other .If same thing happens between india and pakistan , then war would be out of question and mutual growth will prevail.
To all people who think India is not self-reliant in petrol and petrochemical process, then there is a surprise for you. India imports crude oil and then processes it into petrol/diesel and other products. And we are so good at it that we have excess refining capacity. The Jamnagar Refinery of Reliance is almost totally reliant on exports. We have been also invited to build a refinery in Iran.
Mr.Vipin Please broaden your views.We will import crude in Foreign exchange.add value to it and export it in FE. So what's the problem.There is no problem in this good decision on India's part! If you want to narrow the Indo Pak gap... this is the way
This is the time when we should help out Pakistan. It is a good sign that Pakis have shown some kind of faith in us. India has been telling them off and on that we are their friends not masters. Let us have brotherly relations..It will certainly have a positive impact on the people of Pakistan, majority of whom are pro-India.
Inporting rawmaterial and exporting value added products makes a country flourish. Kudos to India for importing crude oil and exporting refined products especially to Pakisthan. After all this is exactly what neighbors are for.
I would like to call attention of Mr vipin Krishnan that India is not self reliant for its crude requirements but we have huge extra capacity in refined product like petrol and diesel. our refineries at jamnagar already exporting fuel to many countries even US .They are doing value addition and reexporting the products thus earning money for the country and also creating jobs in the country. Further it will definitely improve relationship with Pakistan and also let the common Pakistanis know our capabilities and might .
@Vipin Krishnan - We import crude oil and will be exporting refined oil. It of course would be at a premium. Along with this we are talking about exporting other petrochemical products. It is a business deal and not charity.
I hope this will improve our relations with neighbor.
When India is not self reliant in petrochemical products and has to import a larger part of its consumption from OPEC nations, this decision is not helping the national interest. We are not a nation with surplus fuel reserves. The fuel economy actually runs the country's economy with having a high toll in the name of INFLATION. Countries importing oil should never be ideally allowed to export them. It is a double standard. Lets make ourselves self-reliable and then help our wanting neighbor. India's refinery sector will be self-reliant in processing crude, but India's oil requirement warrants import. Nothing bad in helping Pakistan, but not when we are lacking petrol in the domestic market and the prices are becoming a matter of immense concern.
Wow, what a positive behaviour from both sides! If such interactions help to understand each other, well, some of the issues (if not all) can be resolved.
The request for petrol by Pakistan is a morale booster for India, though India cannot spare much gasoline to any country. The construction of the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, known as PIP or Peace Pipeline will help the subcontinent to meet its energy demands. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline is under consideration. There is possibility of another natural gas pipeline from Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India. The natural gas reserves of Iran is about 35 times the reserves of India or Pakistan. The energy pipelines from Iran, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan will meet the energy needs of Pakistan and India and reduce the tension between both countries. In addition to the cooperation for the supply of petrol and natural gas, India is well equipped for supply of jet fuel and petro-chemicals to Pakistan to boost trade relations and the peace process between the two countries.
Who knows, may be better friendly relations between India & Paksitan lay ahead after 60 years of partition; the new generations on both sides finally have come to their senses that it is better to be friends than foes especially when we were united and one at one time and are currently neighbors.
It is heart warming to hear the positive news. India being a big brother has an obligation to help struggling Pakistan civilian leaders to establish firmer democratic control. This is an essential prerequisite for peace in the region.
How pathetic the Indian administration is even surprises me. Why help a country that is un-officially at war with India? Pakistan targets India with terror activities and the latter comes to its aid when it has fuel supply problems? The same fuel could be used for jet aircrafts targeting India in the future. Even now the ISI and Pak army are plotting more terror atrocities on Indian soil and against Indians.
Till now, PAK has demonstrated only hatred against India. Pak is not a trustworthy nation and it has been proved several times. Whatever it says should not be taken at face value. Also, India should never yield for any of its demands.Great restraint has to be observed for trade dealings with it as there is every likelihood that it uses the same product for the detriment of India through fostering terrorism against India.
This is an excellent step forward. Nothing improves relations between Countries than trade. Selling petrol to pakistan, India is sending an important message i.e we will help you deal with a shortage of an important commodity! The prospect of extending the LNG pipeline to Lahore and also the TAPI project bodes well for the subcontinent. Both Governments deserve praise
india started exporting the fuel to pakistan., how?? is there any new plant found. already india itself is in trouble because of huge demand and is importing..
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