ISLAMABAD: Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd temporarily shut down its refinery operations for five days as part of its scheduled maintenance work. The refinery will resume its operations by April 11, 2023. The scheduled maintenance will not affect the supply of both diesel and gasoline (petrol).

However, it has been reportedly said that diesel stocks reduced to 46 days of consumption, threatening the closure of the Parco.

The government has deliberately relaxed control over oil smuggling due to a lack of dollars for petroleum imports.

This strategy has resulted in an Iranian oil oversupply in Pakistani markets, as domestic demand for diesel and petrol has fallen by half.

Oil industry stakeholders expressed concern about excessive Iranian oil smuggling and other issues during a recent meeting with Minister of State (Petroleum) Musadik Malik.

Parco representatives informed the state minister that the refinery’s output had dropped to 75 percent due to the OMCs failing to lift stocks. They feared that the refinery would be forced to close if the situation worsened.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023