ISLAMABAD, July 16: A government spokesman clarified here on Wednesday that there was no recent reduction in the Saudi oil facility for the import of crude oil.

Reacting to Dawn’s story appearing on Tuesday, the spokesman said the import of crude oil from various countries was planned each year and was not a fixed quantity from any specific source.

During the financial year 2003-04, it is planned to avail of Saudi facility as reflected in the current budget amounting to Rs31 billion ($538 million) as compared to Rs39 billion for the previous year. Consequently, the spokesman said, it was incorrect that there was a 50 per cent reduction from $600 million to $300 million.

Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz when contacted said that there was certainly a reduction in the Saudi oil facility but it was not 50 per cent.

As regard the import of crude oil worth $3 billion, it was clarified that this amount also included the import of other petroleum products and did not exclusively pertain to the import of crude oil from various sources. Also, no crude oil was being imported from Kuwait nor was it being imported on reduced prices from the United Arab Emirates.