Category: Highlights

National Refinery Limited (NRL), reeling from months of lackluster fuel oil demand and an abundance of inventory, has temporarily shut down its operations, The News learnt on Monday. Furnace oil stocks have been piling up at refineries, with the situation getting further aggravated due to lack of buying from independent power producers (IPP). This has led to the temporary shutdown of three refineries so far. Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) and Cnergyico Pak Limited (formerly Byco) have already closed their operations on high fuel oil inventories. On December 16, 2021, PRL…

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After a month-long impasse, the government on Monday conditionally agreed to provide 50 per cent gas supply to textile manufacturers for co-generation on a best effort basis provided they surrender in writing their stay orders and get their energy audits conducted. Energy Minister Hammad Azhar told Dawn that a government team and a delegation of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) on Monday reached an agreement under which textile mills would be provided half of their requirement — 75 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) instead 150 mmcfd — on…

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Gas and furnace oil (FO) crisis is becoming a norm in Pakistan in winters. To some extent, failure to procure adequate volume of LNG in winter was also overplayed by the media. However, if there is going to be an FO crisis, the government should be held responsible. The fear is that locally produced FO by refineries may not be consumed due to higher imports. If that happens, local refineries will produce lower quantities of petrol and diesel. And that can disturb the value chain of domestic hydrocarbons i.e., production…

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A fire broke out early today at the Baytown refinery operated by Exxon, injuring four people. Law enforcement has called the fire a major industrial incident, the Wall Street Journal reported. No fatalities were reported at the 561,000-bpd complex. “ExxonMobil’s emergency response teams continue to work to extinguish the fire that occurred in a hydrodesulfurization unit at our Baytown Refinery this morning around 1 a.m. Central Time,” the supermajor said in a statement emailed to the WSJ. “We are saddened to inform that four people were injured and are receiving medical treatment.…

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The United States and Russia will likely hold bilateral talks to discuss Moscow’s security proposals next month as the Kremlin ramped up is rhetoric by again warning it was prepared to take military measures if the West launched “unfriendly” actions with regard to Ukraine. “We will decide on a date together with Russia, and we believe that that will take place in January,” Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in a call with media on December 21. Donfried said that NATO will be holding a…

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