Pakistan, Azerbaijan Agree to Ink Energy Deals

Pakistan on Monday agreed to sign deals with Azerbaijan covering various areas in energy sector.

According to The Express Tribune, the two countries are expected to ink government-to-government cooperation deals in areas of electricity, crude and refined oil products, LPG and LNG. Once the agreements are signed two countries can sign deals for trading in oil and gas without going through the bidding process.

Officials familiar with the development said a draft of an inter-governmental agreement had been vetted by the Ministry of Law and shared with the authorities in Azerbaijan, The Express Tribune added.

In April this year, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, and Yavar Jamalov, Minister for Defence Industry of Azerbaijan met during Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Commission (PAJC) held in Islamabad to discuss expansion in bilateral cooperation in various sectors including oil and natural gas.

The two side agreed to facilitate talks and subsequent signing of MoU between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Pakistan State Oil Company (PSO) and other nominated entities of Pakistan under the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) for trading crude oil, refined oil products, LNG and LPG as well as joint development of new facilities for their import.

To augment energy supplies, Pakistan has stepped up effort to attract foreign investment, especially in the oil, gas and LNG sectors. Islamabad has also attracted Chinese investment in LNG terminal and other pipeline projects. The Pakistani economy has been facing severe shortage of natural gas which has led to frequent power outages affecting industrial activity.