EAC Member Suggests Shutting Down Oil Refineries

There has been a heated debate on the future of oil refineries since the recent shutdown proposal from Farooq Rahmatullah, a member of the Energy Expert Group of Economic Advisory Council (EAC). In the recent proposal, Rahmatullah had suggested that Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), National Refinery Limited (NRL), and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited should be shut down as they have become obsolete and contribute heavily to air pollution. The top management of the refineries came into action after the proposal and comments of Farooq Rahmatullah. They made accusations that the proposal was biased and in favor of the oil-importing lobby. A national daily reported that in the letters written to the government, the management criticized Rahmatullah, claiming that he did not have any understanding of the strategic importance of the oil refineries. The top management of the refineries further argued that oil refineries create value-addition by saving billions of dollars, and they also provide employment directly or indirectly to thousands of people. Zahid Mir, the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PRL, told the national daily that it would take at least 7-8 years for any green-field deep conversion refinery to produce a total of 275,000 barrels per day, which the three refineries are currently producing. The CEO also pointed out that Farooq Rahmatullah had been the Chairman of the PRL board of directors from 2005 to 2017. However, during his tenure, he had never advocated closing down the refineries due to outdated technology. In his defense, Farooq Ahmed revealed that the claims that he was biased towards the oil-importing lobby were false as Shell had closed 35-40 refineries in the different parts of the country.