A new crisis has arisen due to the non-availability of oil by independent power producers. The refinery will remain closed till the situation improves, said a senior official.
KARACHI – Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) has temporarily suspended its production due to operational and capacity constraints, according to a report in National English Magazine. A regulatory filing with the Pakistan Stock Exchange has emerged.
A notice from PRL, one of the five refineries operating in the country, stated that the refinery would remain closed until the situation improved.
A senior PRL executive told the magazine that the company had run out of storage capacity He said the situation came to a head when the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which also have emergency reserves, refused to take fuel.
On condition of anonymity, the official said that since the power sector was not taking fuel from local refineries, almost everyone had limited storage capacity and more production was being phased out.
He said that the cost of stockpile rent is very high so no one is interested in it except the company which intends to export fuel oil. Sources claimed that the power division had acquired Pakistan State Oil (PSO). The side has messed up matters by importing huge quantities of refined oil at the expense of local refineries.
According to sources, the IPPs said that they did not have money to pay the PSO as they were not paid their dues so the PSO was reluctant to supply them with oil. If this issue is not resolved immediately, all refineries will be closed in the next 15 days.
Earlier this month, the Oil Companies Advisory Council warned in a letter that if refineries were forced to reduce crude oil processing due to the failure of power generating companies and IPPs to carry processed fuel, there would be a shortage of petroleum products. Maybe.
Oil marketing companies (OMCs) use products manufactured by refineries before importing deficit volumes but power generating companies and IPPs did not raise the promised amount due to which stocks in the stocks of oil marketing companies Collected
