Pakistan welcomes UAE’s continued interest in petroleum sector

ISLAMABAD: One of the leading companies of the United Arab Emirates, Mubadala Petroleum, has expressed interest to further invest in Pakistan and undertake expansion of current facilities and infrastructure, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Petroleum on Thursday.
The CEO of Mubadala Petroleum, Musabbeh Al Kaabi met with Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan at the ministry where the two officials discussed UAE’s investments in various sectors of Pakistani market.
Al Kaabi, accompanied by the UAE’s ambassador to Pakistan Essa Abdulla Al Basha Al Noami, appreciated Pakistan government’s steps to facilitate foreign investors and discussed the updates and progress on the establishment of PARCO Coastal Refinery — one of the UAE’s major investments in the country.
“The Federal Minister was also apprised of execution timelines of the coastal oil refinery and both dignitaries expressed satisfaction over the current headway being made by both sides on this vital undertaking,” read the handout.
PARCO’s plan to setup a deep conversion state of the art refinery would be able to refine 250,000 bpd and would be instrumental in adding to the national exchequer, the statement added.
“The group also showed interest in LNG business and exploration on onshore and offshore blocks. They also showed interest in establishing first propylene plant in Pakistan,” the handout read.
Khan told the visiting dignitary that Pakistan was committed to facilitate current and potential investors and that “efforts are already underway to make incremental improvement in the ease of doing business in the country.”
He commended UAE’s continued investments in different sectors and said that Pakistan downstream oil refining and marketing sector offered lucrative investment opportunities. “Based on industry demand forecasts, Pakistan needs new oil marketing and storage network,” he added.
He also noted that the bilateral relations between the two states were on an upward trajectory, and there had been regular exchanges between their top leadership.