NEW DELHI, March 23 (UPI) -- Pakistan will look to India for its petroleum needs, the Pakistani petroleum security said during an energy conference.
"When we need jet fuel or diesel, our first port of call will be India," said Pakistani Petroleum Secretary Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry.
Chaudhry was in India for a two-day regional natural gas summit. Pakistan is coping with an energy crisis and bilateral talks were set to include discussion on transit fees for a natural gas pipeline planned from Turkmenistan.
Pakistan and Turkmenistan last year reached a preliminary deal on gas supplies designated for the pipeline. Washington backs the project over a rival pipeline planned by Iran and Pakistan.
Chaudhry was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying Pakistan needed immediate supplies of petroleum products from India.
"I discussed importing petrol from India during talks with Petroleum Secretary G C Chaturvedi here," he said.
The report said that New Delhi agreed "in principal" to supply Pakistan with fuel from a planned refinery and an existing fuel depot in the city of Bathinda. Pakistan, the report adds, could start importing gasoline from India as early as next month.
