Pak Sahafat – Pakistan announced that it has entered the decisive stage to finalize the $14 billion contract to build a modern oil refinery with the presence of the Saudi Aramco state company and several Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, a plan that was proposed to Islamabad by the Saudi Crown Prince four years ago but no progress had been made in this field.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, Pakistan’s Minister of Petroleum Affairs, Mossadegh Malik, announced in an interview with the Saudi Arabia News media that Islamabad and Riyadh have entered the final stage to sign a contract to build a highly advanced oil refinery, which is worth 14 billion dollars, and some member countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council are also ready to participate in this project.
During his official visit to Pakistan in 2019, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, proposed the cooperation between Riyadh and Islamabad to build an oil refinery in Pakistan, but this issue has been suspended since then, and after some tensions in the relations between the two countries between 2020 and 2021, no progress was observed in this regard.
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Arab News claimed that with the construction of a modern refinery in Pakistan, crude oil refining in this country is expected to increase dramatically. This refinery will have the capacity to process 350,000 to 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day. According to the plan of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, a petrochemical complex will also be set up next to this refinery.
The Minister of Petroleum Affairs of Pakistan stated that the steps of the two countries to finalize this agreement are very fast and Islamabad hopes that this agreement will be signed before the end of the current government of Pakistan.
He announced that Pakistan is ready to trade with any kind of foreign currency, including Saudi Riyal, Chinese Yuan and Pound, for the implementation of this contract, because this is a great business, so it does not matter which currency is used.
The plan to build a modern refinery in Pakistan is being implemented by Saudi Aramco, a state-owned company that has already conducted feasibility studies and is currently in the process of analyzing the methods, including the engineering work required for this project.
According to the process of buying oil from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan imports 3 billion and 200 million dollars of oil annually from this country with long-term repayment. It is said that buying oil from Saudi Arabia in the form of long-term repayment will somewhat reduce the pressure on Pakistan for foreign sector payments.