Land allocation begins for Gwadar’s multi-billion dollar oil refinery

• The $10 billion oil refinery will be built by Saudi oil giant Aramco, and is part of the of the over $20 billion investment announced during Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's visit to Pakistan last year.

The process of land allocation for the multi-billion dollar oil refinery project to be established at the post city of Gwadar has initiated.

The $10 billion oil refinery will be built by Saudi oil giant Aramco, and is part of the of the over $20 billion investment announced during Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's visit to Pakistan last year.

“The land allocation process for the oil refinery is underway with the provincial government’s revenue department in Quetta,” informed Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) director-general Shahzeb Khan Kakar, quoted Arab News.

The official was optimistic that the process of land allocation for the Saudi oil refinery project and a $1-billion petrochemical complex would be completed within a couple of months.

During a visit to Pakistan in February last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the two countries signed short-, mid- and long-term investment agreements worth over $20 billion, including for energy and petroleum projects.

Short-term projects signed include two Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas plants for $4 billion, a $2 billion investment by Saudi power producing company ACWA Power in Pakistan's renewable energy sector and a $1 billion Saudi Fund for Pakistan. Mid-term projects include $1 billion each for petrochemical and food and agricultural projects.

The long-term investments are $10 billion for the construction of the multi-billion-dollar Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Gwadar and $2 billion for the minerals sector, the report said. The total investment comes to $21 billion, according to government figures released after the crown prince's visit.

Meanwhile, the mega refinery has a proposed refining capacity of between 250,000 bpd [barrels per day] to 300,000 bpd.

“All hurdles in the way of Gwadar’s development have been removed and the city will be a future Singapore … By 2050, Gwadar’s economic turnover will reach $30 billion and per capita income is expected to be $15,000,” Kakar added.