KARACHI, Dec 19: Byco Oil Pakistan Limited on Wednesday announced the completion of country’s largest oil refinery at Mouza Kund, District Lasbella, Balochistan.

At present the refinery is in state of pre-commissioning and preparatory activities wherein different plants, equipment and instrumentation are being put to confirmatory checks and tests. Cold circulation of crude oil has already been established and sustained.

Also furnaces of different process units have been test fired and the refinery is ready for hot commissioning and start up, a press release said.

The newly commissioned petroleum refinery will have an installed refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. Combined with existing and fully operative smaller refinery, the cumulative capacity shall be over 155,000 barrels per day which is 55 per cent higher than the existing largest refinery in Pakistan.

Thus it will enhance overall crude oil refining capacity in the country from existing 12.25 to 18 million tons per year and will significantly contribute in reducing import of deficit refined petroleum products in the country. This Refinery can be further expanded up to 180,000 bpd.

Byco Oil Pakistan Limited CEO Qaiser Jamal said along with this new refinery, the country’s first Isomerisation Plant is being commissioned.

The introduction of isomerisation technology in Pakistan will not only enable this refinery to produce higher volumes of motor gasoline to meet country’s demand but this will be the first environment friendly motor gasoline, with almost nil content of benzene, he informed.

The first parcel of crude oil for this refinery will be brought to the country’s first single point mooring installed 10km into the Arabian Sea for direct discharge to the refinery storage tanks. This facility can discharge tankers carrying over 100,000 metric tons of crude oil, he said.

With an investment of significantly over $600m and rising, Byco also operates the fast growing petroleum marketing business network comprising of 222 retail outlets.