BPP forced to put its refinery on cold circulation

Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPP) has been forced to put its refinery on cold circulation, due to lack of demand in petroleum products.

BPP forced to put its refinery on cold circulationThe step has been taken to reduce the current glut and create sufficient space for locally produced basic and condensate, as the consumption of POL products has fallen drastically subsequent to the announcement of lock downs across provinces to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic

Officials BPP said in a statement that “Byco chose not to fully shut down the refining complex so that crude refining operations can be restarted in a matter of hours should the demand pick up again”.

Officials BPP said while appreciating the Ministry of Energy for taking proactive steps that we are supported the government’s stance to prioritize the consumption of domestic crude oil and condensate to keep the domestic refineries operating and diminish the import of POL products.

Vice President of BPP Commercial said that “we expect that demand will pick up soon so that we can quickly resume production at Byco.”

He added that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the nation to face the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. We pray and trust that Pakistan will emerge stronger subsequent to successfully countering the pandemic.

The Ministry of Energy recently advised OMCs to stop their imports of petroleum products with effect from April 1, 2020 to support Pakistan’s domestic refining industry and exploration and production sector through an official order.

Pakistan’s domestic oil refiners including Byco, Attock Refiner, National Refinery, Pakistan Refinery, and Parco have been believed essential services by the Ministry of Energy Petroleum Division through a recent order.

The Ministry notified law enforcement agencies that all of domestic oil refiners should be allowed to continue supply of fuel throughout Pakistan. The ministry further guaranteed free movement for the industry’s employees, vendors, and contractors to ensure availability of petroleum products at all petrol pumps across the country during the nationwide lockdown.