TEXT: Arab Refinery Ltd (PARCO), is a 60:40 joint venture between Government of Pakistan (GOP) and Emirate of Abu Dhabi, through its Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investment Company L.L.C. (ADPI), a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company. PARCO has followed a modular growth strategy whereby it has successfully executed a number of energy infrastructure projects and plays its role as the “Energy Lifeline of Pakistan”.
PARCO operates over 2,000 km of cross-country oil pipelines; a state-of-the-art 120,000 barrels per day operating oil refinery; and strategic storage facilities. In addition, it has several marketing initiatives, including the 2nd largest retail fuel/lubricants network of TOTAL PARCO Pakistan (TPPL) – a 50:50 joint venture with TOTAL of France and owns and operates the largest LPG marketing and distribution company in Pakistan, PARCO Pearl Gas Ltd – a 100% owned subsidiary.
The year 2020 posed several challenges for any and all businesses. As the COVID-19 virus spread around the globe, PARCO closely monitored the developments concerning the pandemic, and undertook necessary measures to ensure the wellbeing of employees and minimize any potential business impact. PARCO and its subsidiaries supported leading welfare organizations across Pakistan for upgrading their institutional capacity, treatment of corona virus patients and distribution of rations for the ones most affected by pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic also had a major business impact as country-wide lockdowns decreased the demand for oil products. However, PARCO used this downtime to increase its operational efficiency, quality of fuel and occupational health and safety.
PARCO Mid-Country Refinery (MCR) was able to successfully complete its much needed turnaround. The Company achieved another milestone by successful completion of its MCR Revamp project. The project, not only enabled the enhancement of its plant processing capacity from 100,000 to 120,000 barrels/day, but also led to the improvement in quality specifications of its Mogas and Diesel production. These environment friendly products are now leading to lower vehicles emissions, thus adding value to air quality and contributing to cleaner and healthier environment in the country.
PARCO’s subsidiary company, PAPCO owns a 786 km long White Oil Pipeline (WOP), which runs from Port Qasim at Karachi to MahmoodKot near Multan. In addition, PARCO also owns and operates the 364km MahmoodKot-Faislalabad-Machike (MFM) pipeline. Both WOP and MFM pipelines are presently being used for the transportation of Diesel to meet upcountry requirements. For optimum WOP and MFM utilization, PARCO/PAPCO have upgraded their pipeline systems to transport Mogas along with Diesel in batches. The project is aimed for efficient and cost effective Mogas transportation to upcountry locations which will bring significant reduction in heavy traffic on roads/highways, reduce impact on the environment, and improve road safety.
Processing and handling hydrocarbons is PARCO’s business and it comes with its share of hazards. PARCO continues to proactively identify, minimize and mitigate situations that have the potential to cause harm to the environment, neighboring communities, health and safety of its employees, customers, service providers, and public at large. The focus and diversity of technical, social and environmental projects of PARCO speak volumes for themselves. The Company is continuously moving forward to serve the nation to achieve sustainable social and economic growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021