ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia held technical level talks to finalize the parameters of the brand new deep conversion refinery to be installed by the kingdom.
The project will be announced during the upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif – who visited Saudi Arabia last month – held consultations in February 2019 on a $21 billion memorandum of understanding, a refinery project and a $10 billion petrochemical complex.
However, under the new scenario, the petrochemical complex is no longer part of the project. The refinery will now be set up with the capacity to refine only 350,000 to 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, a senior official involved in the Abu Dhabi negotiations told JEE News.
“The Pakistani delegation is headed by Minister of State Mossadegh Masood Malik and includes Secretary Petroleum, Secretary Board of Investment, MD PSO, MD PARCO and other sector officials of Petroleum Division. KSA is represented by the Saudi Minister of Energy and Saudi Aramco officials.
“Both parties want to resolve all the technical issues and parameters of the mega project. Saudi Aramco will be the main shareholder of the refinery to be set up in the country and besides there will be other stakeholders in the refinery project.
The government has already updated the draft refining policy for the new refinery with a 16 percent profit margin and a 20-year tax holiday and a six-year protection duty. However, the Pakistani delegation is negotiating with the KSA team with an open-ended policy, the official said.
“If KSA asks for more concessions, the Pakistani side will not hesitate to consider and accommodate them.” The official said the new refinery will be able to export 35-40 percent of Pakistan Oilfields Limited’s (POL) finished products and the rest will be used to meet the country’s needs.
He said that Saudi Aramco has already done its feasibility study and found that setting up a refinery in Gwadar is not possible. However, it is feasible if it is installed in Karachi or Hub (Balochistan), which is also close to Karachi. China may also be part of the said refinery, the official said.
The UAE government is reluctant to set up its coastal refinery (PCR-2) in the hub and the country wants KSA to invest heavily in a new refinery of 350,000-400,000 BPD with more stakeholders, the official said. come with. Project
The Pakistani delegation is also in talks with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to meet the country’s energy needs.
