March 24, 2006	Friday	Safar 23, 1427

KARACHI, March 23: Bosicor Pakistan Limited (BPL) is planning to bring an additional refining capacity of 120,000 barrel per day (BPD) in the next two years. The refinery would consist of mainly crude distillation, gas separation, naphtha hydro treating, plat former, diesel hydro desulphurization, vacuum distillation and a visbreaker plant.

The estimated cost of the new project is $225 million. Currently, the BPL is finalizing its financial closure and the project will be completed by December 2008.

The information was provided to Advisor to the prime minister on Energy Mukhtar Ahmed by the BPL executives in a meeting held in the last week of February in Islamabad.

Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Treasury, Asad A Siddiqui told Dawn that Universal Oil Products (UOP), which had been given the task of selecting and carrying out a thorough technical and economic due diligence, has selected BPL for a state of the art Bechtel design and has recommended the project on its economic grounds besides, further confirming a revamping room for enhancing capacity up to 180,000 BPD.

He said that the BPL has asked the adviser on Energy for a waiver of customs duty on the import of machinery and plants for the new project.

Bosicor, being the country’s fifth oil refinery and first in Balochistan, is located on the coastline of the Arabian Sea on 100 acres of land out of a total land area of 620 acres. The local and foreign investment made so far in the refinery is Rs6.5 billion.

The Refinery is in full commercial operation for almost two years with a present refining capacity of 18,000 BPD, producing all major fuel products.

Asad said that the refinery was currently engaged in implementing four major projects like revamping of crude distillation unit to attain a capacity of 30,000 BPD to be completed by October 2006. The installation of Single Buoy Mooring to receive large size crude oil tankers and to export products will be competed by November 2006, while an addition of 126,000 tons storage capacity will also be completed by November 2006.

He added that installation of 12,500 BPD Isomerization plant would be commissioned by December 2007.

The meeting was also attended by Vice Chairman Aamir Abbasi and president and CEO, Mohammad Wasi Khan.