Pakistan gets first-ever Russian LPG shipment

The Russian embassy in Islamabad said Tuesday that Pakistan received its first liquified petroleum gas (LPG) shipment from Moscow — the country's second major energy purchase from Russia.

The development comes months after the South Asian nation received its first-ever shipment of Russian crude oil.

The embassy, in a post on X formerly known as Twitter, said 100,000 metric tonnes of LPG had been delivered to Pakistan through Iran's Sarakhs Special Economic Zone.

Also, it said, consultations on a second shipment were 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.