Attock Refinery expanding capacity to meet local needs

Major crude oil project to be completed in two years.

ISLAMABAD:

The Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) is taking solid steps to expand its capacity in order to effectively meet the country’s growing energy needs, ARL Human Resources General Manger Asif Saeed informed a media team during a day-long trip to the ARL on Wednesday.

He said the ARL was establishing, at Kohat region, a preflash unit that would help enhance crude processing capacity up to 54,000 barrels per day (BPD). He said the project would be completed at a cost of $27million in two years and would go a long way in meeting the fuel demand of the country.

Similarly, he added, the refinery was establishing a Diesel Hydro-Desulphurisation (HSD) Unit at the cost of $120 million to reduce sulfur content in diesel to Euro-II standard. However, Saeed said the government’s participation is needed to provide incentives in prices to efficiently implement the project, ensuring environment-friendly fuel.

He said an Isomerisation Unit was also being established to increase the gasoline RON and reduce benzene and aromatics. He said future plans also included construction of a cross-country pipeline from Machike-Taru Jabba-Peshawar to efficiently meet oil needs.

He said the refinery was also actively engaged in social corporate responsibilities and providing all basic facilities to local communities. He said the refinery’s Attock Sahara Foundation spends around Rs3 million each year on providing basic facilities to the people.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2011.