Refinery: Capacity utilisation improves to 69 per cent

The utilisation of refinery capacity increased to 69 per cent.

KARACHI: The utilisation of refinery capacity increased to a decent 69 per cent in November on the back of a production ramp-up by Pak-Arab Refinery Company (Parco).

Average utilisation during five months (July-November) of fiscal 2010-11 was 63 per cent, according to InvestCap.

Company-wise break-down shows that Parco’s capacity utilisation stood at 69 per cent while Byco utilised a mere 28 per cent of its capacity during November. On the other hand, capacity utilisation by Attock Refinery Limited, National Refinery Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited stood higher at 85 per cent, 81 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

A steep decline in production from Byco was bridged by ARL, NRL and PRL, said InvestCap analyst Nauman Khan.

However, Byco and Parco throughput declined by 29 per cent and 12.5 per cent on a yearly basis in November while ARL, NRL and PRL throughput jumped by a significant 6.9 per cent, 9.7 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.

The sector’s throughput continues to remain low compared with last year due to closure of Parco’s plant after the floods and curtailed throughput from Byco, added Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2010.