Re: Abu Dhabi signs $5 billion oil refinery deal with Pakistan
Abu Dhabi signs major refining deal with Pakistan
Abu Dhabi is planning to invest up to $6 billion to set up a refinery in Pakistan with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day as part of an ongoing overseas downstream push aimed at diversifying its oil-reliant economy. The government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), the Gulf Emirate’s downstream investment arm, signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan 's Minister of Petroleum Firaq Qayum in Islamabad in mid November. “The refinery will be set up in Khalifa Point and will have a capacity of 200,000 barrels crude oil per day. The project is estimated to cost between $5 billion to $6 billion," IPIC said in a statement. **Officials said it would be the largest single foreign direct investment (FDI) ever made in Pakistan, adding that FDI from the UAE into Pakistan stood at $800 million out of a total $8 billion received by Pakistan last year. **The IPIC will hold a 76% stake in the project, while the Pak-Arab Refinery Company will have 24% in the crude oil refinery company - Khalifa Coastal Refinery (KCR). The KCR will be built at a strategic location along the coast of the Arabian Sea near Hub in Balochistan province of Pakistan .
The Pakistan government has already allocated 2,000 acres and the area will be called Khalifa Point - named after President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. **Construction of the mammoth project is expected to start in January next year. Production is slated to start in December 2012.
**