PARCO shuts down due to flooding

Pak Arab Refinery Ltd. (PARCO), Pakistan’s largest in terms of production, shut down on August 7 after flood waters entered its plant. Flood water submerged large parts of Mahmood Kot and nearby areas in Punjab, where PARCO is located. The 100,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery meets most of the requirements of Punjab and Khyber-Pukhtunkhawa. The petroleum ministry has directed other refineries, especially Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), which is closest to PARCO, to operate at maximum capacity to meet demand. ARL CEO Adil Khattak said the 40,000 barrel-per-day refinery was working at full capacity. “As a matter of fact, we have been producing 41,500 bpd after PARCOs closure on Saturday. ” ARL, located in Rawalpindi, has also stopped export of jet fuel to Afghanistan to meet the requirement of domestic airlines, he said. (August 10, 2010)