The Ministry of Energy has denied media reports suggesting that Pakistan’s multi-billion dollar refinery project with Saudi Aramco is facing uncertainty, terming the reports as ‘baseless and contrary to facts’.
“Some news items reporting refinery project with Saudi Aramco is facing uncertainty are baseless and contrary to facts,” said the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday.
The post said that the government remains in continuous consultation with the Saudi energy giant on finalizing the scope of the project and bringing other potential investors to join.
The rebuttal comes after media reports said that Saudi Aramco, a global energy giant, is not interested in investing in the refinery project.
Back in July, leading Pakistani state-owned companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco for the establishment of a $10-billion greenfield refinery project at Gwadar Port.
Under the MoU, Pakistani state-owned entities, OGDCL, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL) will collaborate through a joint investment strategy.
The project will have a significant foreign investment from oil and gas giants through equity participation, the government said.
It envisions setting up an integrated refinery petrochemical complex with a crude oil processing capacity of a minimum of 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) along with a petrochemical facility in Pakistan.
The integrated refinery petrochemical complex shall comprise various components such as marine infrastructure, petrochemical complex, storage for crude oil and refine utilities, pipeline connectivity, etc.
Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 23% fall in third-quarter net profit on the back of lower oil prices and volumes sold, marginally beating analyst estimates and helping underpin its shares.
Net profit fell to $32.6 billion for the quarter to Sept. 30, above the $31.8 billion expected by 12 analysts in a company-provided forecast.
The Saudi oil producer said lower oil prices and volumes were partially offset by a reduction in production royalties, which are linked to Brent prices.