PAPCO upgrades white oil pipeline to pump gasoline

KARACHI: Pak-Arab Pipeline Company’s (PAPCO) white oil pipeline, previously used for supplying only diesel, has been upgraded at a cost of $200 million to transport gasoline, reducing truck movement and increasing fuel cover, The News learned on Friday.

PAPCO, which operates pipeline system to transport fuels from seaports in Karachi to major oil refineries and cities across the country, was revamping its existing 26-inch 786km long fuel line for multi-product use for a long time due to the enormity of the project.

The company’s oil pipeline consists of two components. One is Karachi-Mahmoodkot (District Muzzafargarh Punajb) (KMK) and the other Mahmoodkot-Faisalabad-Machhike (MFM).

According to sources, it was a strategic project, involving construction of new diesel and motor gasoline storage tanks, gantries for product delivery and transmix processing facility including related civil, mechanical, electrical, instrument and control works.

The pipeline company is a subsidiary of Parco and has the shareholding of Pak Arab Refinery Company (51 percent), Shell Pakistan Ltd (26 percent), Pakistan State Oil (12 percent), and Total Parco Marketing Limited (11 percent).

Pak Arab Refinery Co (Parco) carried out the upgrade work on MFM component singlehandedly and Parco, Shell, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), and Total Parco Marketing Limited (TPML) revamped KMK part of the project through PAPCO.

“The project has been operationalised recently and has started pumping petrol from Karachi to Mahmoodkot and from there to Machhike,” oil sector sources told The News.

The project would be formal inaugurated by a top government functionary, most probably Prime Minister Imran Khan, for which time was being sought.

The upgrade of KMK part of the pipeline has been completed at the cost of $120 million, whereas the $80 million were spent on MFM half’s reconditioning.

Before the upgrade, diesel was being pumped from Karachi to the North of the country through the pipeline and after retooling petrol would be supplied to Punjab, the largest consumer of petroleum products.

According to a sources associated with the development project, the upgraded pipeline is running around 30 to 35 five percent capacity presently and it would be gradually enhanced to 100 percent in the days ahead.

The running of the upgraded pipeline at its full capacity would help reduce congestion on the roads by substituting ten thousand tankers as well as would be environmentally-friendly.

Sources pointed out delay in the operationalisation of the project was because of security-related issues.

“Managing Director Parco Shahid Mahmood Khan actively took up this issue with the top government functionaries and now a well-planned security cover has been designed with the involvement of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and its provincial chapters in it,” sources disclosed.

The completion of this project would add 255,000 tons of fuel storage capacity to the system, industry officials said adding that it would also decrease the movement of thousands of trucks operating out of Keamari in Karachi to Mehmoodkot and back.

Apart from the upgrade of the pipeline project, Parco has also completed its project to upgrade its refining capacity from 100,000 to 120,000 barrel per day.

“The project was completed at a fast pace after sitting managing director took charge,” sources said. This project would also be inaugurated by the Prime Minister.