200,000 bpd oil refinery in Kohat to help achieve autarky in energy sector

APP – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is in the process of establishing a refinery in district Kohat, having capacity to cleanse 200,000 barrels oil per day (bpd), which would help make the country self-sufficient in energy sector.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited and a Russian consortium of investors have recently reached an agreement to set- up the refinery at an estimated cost of Rs 35 billion,” official sources told APP.

As per the agreement, the company would set- up the facility in Kohat district and pay 10 percent share to the provincial government once it started the operation.

The provincial government, they said, was encouraging foreign investors by providing them maximum incentives and facilities in diverse fields, besides ensuring good governance and transparency.

The sources said Khyber Pakhtunkwa was considered a leader in production of crude and condensate as compared to other provinces, saying that it was producing 55,000 bpd oil - equal to 54 percent of the country’s total production.

They said oil and gas Exploration and Production (E&P) companies had intensified their drilling activities to tap recoverable reserves of around nine Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) gas and oil deposits exceeding 500 million barrels (mbl) in different potential areas of the province. 

"KP holds promise for new exciting discoveries, particularly in Kohat Basin which has become main area of focus after successful discoveries by OGDCL and MOL. Most of the area of KP is still lying unexplored and therefore, there is potential of future hydrocarbon prospects in the province," they said. 

Answering a question, they said Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) and MOL Pakistan had produced Rs 99.538 billion crude oil and natural gas from its different operational fields of the province during the last 17 years.

The two leading companies have extracted over 89,998,250 bbl crude oil and 87,217,244 mcf natural gas during the period.