Pakistan is urgently diversifying its crude oil imports, turning to Nigeria as Middle East supply routes face mounting risks from regional tensions. Threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have forced the South Asian nation to seek alternatives.
The Houthi blockade of Saudi oil and reported closures at the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted traditional energy flows. Pakistan's liquefied natural gas imports from Qatar have also suffered, leaving the country forced to buy LNG on the spot market at sharply higher costs.
Last August, reports emerged that Pakistan Refinery Limited planned to import Nigerian Bonny Light crude from Vitol as Asian refiners hunt for cheaper alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies. However, trade data tells a different story.
Records from the National Bureau of Statistics and TradeMap show Pakistan has never actually purchased crude oil from Nigeria. Instead, the country imports petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons from the African nation, spending $370 million on liquefied and gaseous natural gas, propane, butane, and specific alkenes in 2024.
Ali Pervaiz Malik, Pakistan's federal minister for petroleum and natural resources, convened an emergency meeting with refinery chiefs to address the security crisis. He briefed them on the deteriorating situation stemming from renewed conflict between the United States, Iran and the Houthis.
Malik ordered refinery operators to immediately identify alternative crude suppliers to maintain fuel supplies. The directive triggered a scramble to secure cargoes from Nigeria, the United States, Singapore and Central Asian countries.
Nigeria, Africa's largest crude producer, emerged as a top alternative precisely because supplies from outside the Gulf can sidestep the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistani refiners have begun working with international trading companies to check crude cargo availability from these markets.
Imports through Oman's ports are also under consideration, though industry officials view that route as riskier given current security threats. Three major Pakistani refineries—Parco, Pakistan Refinery Limited and National Refinery Limited—currently receive crude from the United Arab Emirates through Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi crude imports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu have grown increasingly unreliable following Houthi threats against shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Parco has requested the United Arab Emirates supply seven crude cargoes through Fujairah, above its usual four to five shipments.
The refinery normally supplements Fujairah deliveries with two cargoes from Saudi Arabia via Yanbu but is now preparing to meet all crude needs through Fujairah if Red Sea supplies remain disrupted. Cnergyico Pakistan Limited, which traditionally sourced crude from the United States and Africa, is also adjusting its procurement strategy amid the regional instability.
