Pakistan Refinery inks license agreements with Honeywell UOP, Axens

Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), one of the country’s largest oil refineries, has signed pivotal license agreements with Honeywell UOP and Axens, global technology providers, for its Refinery Expansion and Upgrade Project (REUP).

The development was shared by PRL in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

“Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) has signed pivotal license agreements with renowned industry leaders Honeywell UOP and Axens, for its ambitious REUP,” read the notice.

“Our partnership with Honeywell UOP and Axens marks a significant milestone in our journey towards refinery modernization,” said Zahid Mir, Managing Director and CEO of PRL.

“We believe that these collaborations will play a crucial role in shaping the future of Pakistan’s energy landscape,” he added.

Doubling capacity

The company shared that the REUP project aims to double PRL’s refining capacity from the current 50kbpd (thousand barrels per day) to 100kbpd and upgrade the existing configuration from hydro skimming to a deep conversion refinery.

PRL said that the conversion would enable it to produce value-added products and Euro V-compliant (European emission standards) fuels that are environmentally preferable to legacy automotive fuels.

“PRL has selected state-of-the-art process technologies from these global technology providers,” it said.

Honeywell UOP has been selected for bottom-of-the-barrel conversion technology and naphtha processing.

This includes the Residue Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Process, the LPG Merox process, and a naphtha complex, featuring a naphtha hydrotreater and a CCR (continuous catalyst regeneration) platforming unit.

Meanwhile, Axens has been chosen to supply Prime G+®, Prime D™, and Polynaphtha™ to achieve Euro V gasoline and diesel specifications, added the statement.

Last week, PRL executed an upgrade agreement with the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

This was done in accordance with the mandatory provisions outlined in the Pakistan Oil Refining Policy for the Upgradation of Existing/Brownfield Refineries, 2023.