Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is currently engaged in discussions with Bank ofChina/Sinopec regarding the establishment of either an oil refinery orpetrochemical refinery, involving an investment exceeding $10 billion.These insights have been provided by well-informed sources to BusinessRecorder.
The sources further revealed that the Secretary of Petroleum recentlyprovided updates to the Executive Committee of the Special Initiative onForeign Currency Accounts (SIFC) about discussions with Saudi counterpartsand PSO’s ongoing negotiations with Bank of China/Sinopec. It isanticipated that further progress will be made during the forthcoming visitof the caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, to China.
Additionally, the SIFC has issued directives to various governmentofficials, including the Secretary of Petroleum, Secretary of Finance,Secretary of Law and Justice, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue(FBR), and Chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). Thesedirectives emphasize the finalization of the Host Government Agreement(HGA) for the TAPI pipeline within agreed timelines and the resolution ofpending matters through consensus among relevant departments.
Furthermore, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Petroleum, andSecretary of Planning have been instructed to engage in discussionsregarding the Pakstream gas pipeline project within a Working Group, withupdates to be shared with the Executive Committee of the SIFC.
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OGRA has been designated as the lead regulator responsible for formulatinga plan for the provision of virtual LNG, in collaboration with thePetroleum Division. This includes the finalization of codal formalities forthe issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
The Minister for Maritime Affairs (MoMA), Secretary of Petroleum, andChairman of OGRA have received directives to create an Action Plan aimed atfully utilizing and optimizing existing LNG terminals for the import ofmaximum LNG, preferably in a business-to-business (B2B) mode. The goal isto secure additional LNG cargoes before the arrival of winter in 2023.