Saudi Arabia Plans Oil Refinery in Pakistan

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A senior Pakistani diplomat told the Gulf Daily News in early November that Saudi Arabia will invest $5 billion to build a refinery, the Khalifa Coastal Refinery (KCR), in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, along Pakistan's strategic Arabian Sea coast.

A delegation from Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), headed by the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Energy Minister Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hameli, visited Islamabad and signed the agreement regarding the refinery with the Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Resources. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the ceremony.

The Pakistani Commerce Consul in Abu Dhabi, Bilal Pasha, said the project will be the largest single direct foreign investment in Pakistan so far. Last year, the UAE invested $800 million in Pakistan.

IPIC will own 76% of the shares in KCR, and the remaining 24% will be held by Pak Arab Refinery Company, which is owned by the Pakistan's government. Construction on KCR will start in January 2008, and is expected to be complete in 2011. Production will start in 2012. The designed capacity of the refinery will be 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Pakistan's government has allocated 2,000 acres of space to be used for the project.

Construction of the refinery will meet Pakistan's increasing oil demand. In 2006, 16 million tons of oil and oil products were consumed in Pakistan. That number is expected to go up to 26 million tons by 2018.

This refinery will also contribute to the economic development in Baluchistan region, as well, through jobs generated directly and indirectly from the refinery.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading marketing information services company for the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy-related markets throughout the world. For more than 24 years, IIR has provided accurate and timely intelligence through products such as plant and project information databases, focused market databases, industry forecasting, key industry contacts, industry and territorial map products, direct marketing services and applications, and daily industry news.