Pakistan has received its first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia, according to the Russian embassy in Islamabad. This is the country's second major energy purchase from Russia, following its first-ever shipment of Russian crude oil earlier this year.
The embassy said that 100,000 metric tonnes of LPG had been delivered to Pakistan through Iran's Sarakhs Special Economic Zone. Consultations on a second shipment are underway.
It is not yet clear how much the LPG cost or if it was discounted. It has also yet to be disclosed through which currency the payment was made. For the Russian crude oil, Pakistani officials had said that they made payments to Moscow in Chinese currency but the cost was never disclosed.
Energy imports account for the majority of Pakistan's external payments, and discounted imports from Russia provide some relief as the country struggles with an acute balance of payments problem, risking default on its external debt.
