PAKISTAN: Saudi Arabia to sign MoU for setting up Aramco oil refinery in Pakistan

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a multi-billion dollar Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Gwadar, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan, according to Saudi English daily Arab News. In early January 2019, a cabinet member confirmed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman would arrive in the country in the first week of February and an MoU for establishing a petrochemical complex was still being worked out on the request of Riyadh.

According to Arab News, it is expected that Pakistan will sign a number of investment deals including the construction of mega oil refinery in the month of February in the presence of a high-level Saudi delegation. The conformation to this effect was given by Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. “The oil refinery project is the biggest investment project of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by Arab News

“A 15-member delegation of Saudi Arabia visited Gwadar from Karachi as part of the finalization process of the MoU for Aramco oil refinery,” Haroon Sharif, Minister of State and Chairman of Pakistan Board of Investment (BoI), told Arab News. “We have finalized the MoU for the construction of Aramco oil refinery [...] overall directions have been agreed upon and the agreement will be signed at an appropriate time,” Sharif said. “I am expecting around USD 15 billion investment from Saudi Arabia in the next 3 years. The inflow of investment for oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Pakistan is estimated to be between USD 6 billion to USD 10 billion,” BoI Chairman told Arab News.

Source: Daily “Dawn”, Karachi; 7 Jan 2019
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)