PSO to establish 100 LPG stations

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is to establish 100 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) auto gas stations in the country within a year, besides initiating construction of a modern crude oil refinery in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) which would be completed within four years.
This was stated by Naeem Yahya Mir, Managing Director (MD) Pakistan State Oil (PSO) while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. He said that the national fuel supplying company has signed a contract with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) for importing furnace oil from foreign ports so that valuable foreign exchange could be saved being spent on making payments to the foreign shipping companies.
Highlighting PSO”s future expansion strategy, Mir said that PSO in principle has decided to establish an oil refinery is KPK, adding that the PSO has not violated any rules and regulations while signing a contract with Bakri Trading Company Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd (BTCPL).
Mr. Mir said that as part of his dream vision for PSO, he aimed to make the national giant an integrated energy company by incorporating all aspects of the product supply chain including exploration, refining, distribution and shipping. Through this, the company will minimize dependence on foreign supply chains and follow the model of successful companies which have integrated multiple supply chain aspects within themselves.
He also that PSO can only achieve this dream by connecting with upstream partners, introducing innovative ideas to beat the competition downstream and establishing control of its own product supply chain. Furthermore, he outlined his goals of establishing PSO as the leading company in Pakistanwithin a period of two years, a regional player in four years and a member of the ranks of global oil conglomerates such as PETROCHINA, PETRONAS-Malaysia, PETROBRAS -Brazil etc within six years.
Moving forward, the MD-PSO outlined some of the new initiatives PSO has undertaken under his leadership including signing a Contract of Affreightment (COA) with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) for importing furnace oil from foreign ports, development of a new oil tanker mooring point and storage facility at Hub which will increase national storage capacity and reduce congestion at the existing jetties, establishment of over 100 LPG Autogas stations in the upcoming year and agreements with PARCO, BYCO and Bakri Trading for the acquisition of POL products. Other major projects listed at the conference included establishment of a modern EURO IV capacity refinery in Khyber Pakhtunwa, acquisition of a refinery in the south of the country and setting up a Base II lubricant refinery. He also plans to establish a regional JV Aviation Company in the Middle East and is looking to expand into the coal business in partnership with other companies.
Furthermore, the MD stated that he had embarked on a program of cutting out middle-men and cost rationalization at PSO. He stated that by eliminating the addition of detergent additives in Mogas and Diesel, the Company would save approximately Rs. 635 Million/year, savings of Rs. 450 Million/year were also expected through the stoppage of war premium insurance payments on POL product imports. Additionally by uplifting products from local sources/ refineries, foreign exchange of approximately $200 Million would be saved annually and a further Rs. 500 Million will be saved by engaging the national flag carrier PNSC for transport of furnace oil.