Pakistan Refineries Mull $9.89 Billion Capacity Upgrade Plans

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior Internal Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A paper submitted by Pakistan's oil refining sector to the Pakistan government proposes upgrade projects to increase oil refining capacity to a total of about 400,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) with an investment of $9.89 billion.

The emphasis of the downstream industry would be on the eventual expansion of refining capacity to a possible total about 670,000 BBL/d from the current level of 270,000 BBL/d but would not, at this stage, focus on improving the specification of petroleum products.

Currently demand in Pakistan stands at about 430,000 BBL/d, with the shortfall met by imports, which totaled about 240,000 BBL/d in 2010-11.The diesel imported is of "pre-Euro" specification. Neighboring countries China and India are importing Euro-III grade diesel. Similarly, Pakistan's gasoline is specified as "pre-Euro," while neighbors import Euro-IV grade. All the country's auto manufacturers are not producing "Euro-standard" vehicles.

The submission to the government also proposes immediate and short-term upgrade plans with an investment of $1.59 billion to add refining capacity of about 125,000 BBL/d. Byco Oil Pakistan (KAR:BOPL) (Karachi) will invest $660 million to install platformer isomerization and diesel hydrodesulfurization units (DHDS), the country's largest reverse osmosis plant, plus single-buoy mooring and a liquid petroleum gas facility to increase capacity.

Other refineries will make investments totaling $930 million for a range of product and process upgrades, including DHDS units. A major portion of the total new investments will be the $5 billion into the Khalifa Point Coastal refinery, with a refining capacity of about 230,000 BBL/d.

View Project Report - 94700100 300044318 300044322 300044329 300044330

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.