Business

PRL to submit report on Russian oil in July

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PRL may take two months to refine 100,000 tonnes of Russian crude.
Refineries already facing a shortage of furnace oil; export it at 25% loss.
Arrival of remaining Russian crude readjusted due to storage constraints.

ISLAMABAD: In two weeks, the Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) is likely to submit to the government a report about the quality, yields, and commercial viability of the Russian crude oil URAL — which is heavier — The News reported, quoting a Petroleum Division senior official.

The PRL, which is in the process of refining Russian crude, will submit the report to the Petroleum Division about the yields (production of petrol, diesel, FO, and light diesel oil, in terms of percentages), quality, and — more importantly — its viability for Pakistan’s economy after refining cost and margins of the refinery have been worked out.

The report will help the government’s relevant functionaries decide whether to go for a GtG import deal with Russia.

The local refineries currently produce an average of motor spirit (petrol) at 25-30% and furnace oil at 45% by using the crude of Saudi Aramco and ADNOC.

However, the official said that half of the 100,000 tonnes of Russian crude would be exported as furnace oil at 75% of the crude cost with a 25% loss because URAL crude is heavier crude, and 50% of furnace oil will be produced.

“Pakistan refineries that use crude mostly from Saudi Aramco and ADNOC are already facing an ullage of furnace oil in their storages and they export the furnace oil with a 25% loss.”

The deep conversion refineries in Dubai make finished products out of the furnace oil that Pakistan refineries have exported at 25%.

The official said PRL — an old refinery — is processing the Russian crude.

Even though the heavy Russian crude is a discounted fuel, PRL will produce 50% furnace oil out of it, meaning that the ship containing 50,000 tonnes will be exported as furnace oil as its utility in Pakistan is not up to the mark.

Last Sunday, PRL just exported 25,000 furnace oil out of the crude that it normally uses from Saudi Aramco and ADNOC.

“However, because of the gas crisis in the country, and the increase in temperature, the demand of electricity has increased and the authorities concerned have started using the local furnace oil for power generation too.”

The official disclosed that PRL might take two months’ time to refine 100,000 tonnes of Russian crude as it first blends 25-30% of Russian URAL with 70-75% of the crude from Saudi Aramco, and then it refines the blended crude.

The Petroleum Division official said the first cargo carrying 45,000 tonnes of Russian crude arrived at Karachi Port Trust on June 11. Now, the same shipment with 55,000 tonnes would arrive again on June 29 — earlier scheduled to arrive on June 20.

The arrival of remaining Russian crude has been readjusted because of the storage constraints. And on top of it, the official said a vessel containing 70,000 tonnes crude oil from Saudi Aramco is due on June 25 for Pakistan Refinery Limited.

The main ship from Russia with 100,000 tonnes of URAL crude arrived in Oman on June 7. From there, a small ship had been arranged to transport the crude in two rounds.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.