During the first day of technical-level talks today between the two countries in Islamabad, the Pakistani team indicated that it could import all petroleum products, including high-speed diesel, furnace oil, petrol and jet fuel, from India to meet its domestic requirements.

Pakistan has proposed to export naphtha – a surplus product – to India, which could be converted to petrol in India and then re-exported to Pakistan.

Pakistan's diesel consumption stands at 6.9 MT per year, of which production by domestic oil refineries stands at 3.2 to 3.4 MT with the rest being imported.

Pakistan's furnace oil demand stands at around 9MT, of which domestic refineries produce about 2.5MT with the rest being imported. Pakistan is in the process of setting up new power plants, which would increase demand of furnace oil over the coming years.

Pakistani and Indian officials would also discuss import of 200 million cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per day from Delhi, deliveries of which could be initiated immediately.

According to Pakistani authorities, the import of LNG from Qatar and other countries like Malaysia would take three years, while supplies from India could start within six to eight months. (Also see: India in talks with Pak for export of petro products)