Pakistan crude oil imports from US suppliers have picked up sharply in 2026, with the country’s largest refiner Cnergyico buying about 8.1 million barrels of American crude over nine months. The push comes as Islamabad tries to cut its reliance on Gulf routes through the Strait of Hormuz and narrow its trade gap with Washington. Officials say the trend could deepen further if a proposed EXIM Bank financing facility is extended to Pakistani buyers.

Background

For decades, Pakistan crude oil imports from US refiners were essentially non-existent. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates supplied almost all of the country’s oil and liquefied natural gas, with close to 90 percent of these shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That changed after Islamabad and Washington signed a bilateral trade agreement on July 31, 2025. The deal was announced by US President Donald Trump himself, who said the two countries would work together on developing Pakistan’s oil reserves and easing tariffs on Pakistani exports. Cnergyico Pk Limited, Pakistan’s largest refinery with a capacity of about 156,000 barrels per day, moved quickly. The company received the country’s first-ever US crude cargo, one million barrels aboard the tanker MT Pegasus, at its offshore terminal in Balochistan in late October 2025. Anyone tracking Pakistan crude oil imports from US 2020 records will find almost nothing to compare, since the country simply was not buying American oil at that point. That makes the current shift, five years later, a genuinely new chapter in Pakistan’s energy history rather than a resumption of an old trade lane.

Details

Since that first cargo, the volume of Pakistan crude oil imports from US sources has grown steadily. Cnergyico Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters the refiner imported roughly 8.1 million barrels of US crude over nine months, including 7.1 million barrels worth about $750 million in the fiscal year that ended in June 2026.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik confirmed in May that Pakistan had imported six million barrels of American crude for the first time in a single fiscal year, most of it processed as West Texas Intermediate light crude through Cnergyico’s Single Point Mooring facility near Karachi. Looking at Pakistan crude oil imports from US by country of origin, the shipments have come almost entirely from Gulf Coast terminals in the United States, loaded at Houston and traded through global energy firm Vitol before arriving in Balochistan. Cnergyico has said it is also weighing spot purchases alongside longer-term supply contracts based on pricing, reliability and supply security. Breaking down Pakistan crude oil imports from US by year shows a clear pattern: zero before October 2025, roughly two million barrels in the final months of 2025, and a rapid climb through the first half of 2026 as fuel demand rose during the summer months. Cnergyico has said it could book cargoes worth as much as one billion dollars by the end of the current fiscal year if conditions stay favourable. Pakistan crude oil imports from US today remain closely tied to developments in the Middle East. Tensions around the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz pushed Islamabad to look for alternatives, including Saudi crude routed via Yanbu on the Red Sea, alongside the American option. Rising fuel costs at home have also added pressure on the government, with fresh protests over inflation and fuel prices reported this week. Pricing dynamics matter too. The Arab Light crude price, Saudi Arabia’s key benchmark for Asian buyers, has swung sharply in recent months. Saudi Aramco cut its August official selling price for Arab Light by 50 cents a barrel to two dollars below the regional benchmark, following an even steeper cut of eleven dollars a barrel in July, the largest reduction on record in more than two decades. A softer Arab Light crude price narrows the cost gap with US grades, which analysts say will shape how aggressively Pakistani refiners keep buying American oil going forward. Energy trade is not the only front where Pakistan and the United States have grown closer. A Pakistan arms deal worth 450 million dollars was approved for the sustainment of Pakistan’s F-16 fighter fleet, followed by a further 686 million dollar package cleared by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in December 2025. Analysts note this Pakistan arms deal is focused on maintenance, spare parts and interoperability equipment such as Link-16 systems rather than new weapons platforms. Away from oil and defence, another long-running restriction eased this year. The Murree Brewery export ban lifted after nearly fifty years allowed Pakistan’s oldest brewery to resume shipping beer abroad, with early consignments sent to the United Kingdom, Japan and Portugal. The company’s CEO, Isphanyar Bhandara, said the change reflects a broader shift in how Pakistan is easing older trade restrictions to open new external markets.

Quotes

Cnergyico Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi said the refiner’s approach to sourcing is becoming more flexible. “Pricing, reliability and supply security” now guide decisions between spot cargoes and longer-term contracts, he told Reuters, adding that a second offshore mooring facility is being evaluated to expand import and export capacity. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik framed the growth in American crude purchases as a milestone for bilateral ties. “For the first time, Pakistan has imported six million barrels of crude oil from the United States,” he said, nothing that Islamabad is also exploring cooperation with Washington on port infrastructure, storage facilities and refinery upgrades. Murree Brewery CEO Isphanyar Bhandara described the end of the export ban as a long-awaited breakthrough for the company, saying it can finally build its brand internationally after decades of keeping a low profile due to domestic advertising restrictions on alcohol.

Impact

The rise in Pakistan crude oil imports from US refiners carries weight well beyond one refinery’s supply chain. It gives Islamabad a genuine alternative route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that carries the vast majority of Pakistan’s energy imports and remains vulnerable to regional conflict. It also feeds directly into trade diplomacy. Pakistan has been trying to narrow a trade surplus with Washington estimated at close to three billion dollars, and larger purchases of American oil, alongside the Pakistan arms deal packages, help balance that ledger while supporting lower tariff rates on Pakistani exports such as textiles. For ordinary consumers, movements in the Arab Light crude price still matter more day to day, since Gulf grades continue to make up the bulk of Pakistan’s refining input. A cheaper Arab Light crude price eases pressure on the rupee and on fuel bills, even as the country diversifies part of its basket toward American WTI crude. The Murree Brewery export ban lifted decision, while smaller in scale, signals something similar about Pakistan’s wider trade posture: a willingness to revisit old restrictions when there is a clear economic case for opening new revenue streams abroad, even in sensitive sectors.

Conclusion

Pakistan crude oil imports from US suppliers look set to keep expanding through the rest of 2026, contingent on financing arrangements, freight costs and how the Arab Light crude price behaves in the coming months. Cnergyico’s push toward a billion-dollar import target, combined with fresh Pakistan arms deal packages and the Murree Brewery export ban lifted this year, points to a broader pattern of Islamabad and Washington building out a wider economic relationship that goes beyond any single commodity. Analysts expect the next major test to come once the proposed EXIM Bank facility is finalised, which could determine how quickly Pakistan’s American oil imports move from a diversification experiment to a permanent fixture of its energy mix.

FAQs

Which country gives oil to Pakistan?

 Pakistan has historically sourced the overwhelming majority of its crude oil and liquefied natural gas from Gulf suppliers, chiefly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with close to 90 percent of these cargoes passing through the Strait of Hormuz before recent regional disruptions. Since October 2025, the United States has emerged as a growing third source, with refiner Cnergyico importing West Texas Intermediate crude through global trader Vitol under a bilateral trade agreement. Pakistan has also explored Saudi crude delivered via the Red Sea port of Yanbu as a way of reducing dependence on any single maritime route, meaning the country’s oil supply picture now spans Gulf, Red Sea and American sources rather than relying on one region alone.

How much oil is imported in Pakistan? 

Pakistan is heavily dependent on imported energy, with petroleum products regularly ranking as the single largest item on its import bill, valued at around 16 billion dollars in a recent fiscal year and accounting for close to a fifth of total imports. Within that total, Pakistan crude oil imports from US sources have grown from essentially zero before October 2025 to roughly 8.1 million barrels over nine months by mid-2026, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, while the bulk of the country’s overall crude and LNG needs continue to be met through long-standing Gulf supply arrangements.

What are the top 10 imports of Pakistan?

 Pakistan’s import bill is dominated by petroleum and petroleum products, which typically sit at the very top of the list given the country’s near-total reliance on foreign energy supplies. Other major import categories include palm oil and edible oils, machinery and industrial equipment, iron and steel, chemicals and fertilisers, plastics, vehicles and transport parts, telecommunications equipment, pulses and food items, and cotton along with textile raw materials for the country’s export-oriented manufacturing sector. Energy imports, including crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas, consistently account for the largest single share of Pakistan’s total import expenditure each year.