Pakistan’s total refining capacity is expected to almost triple, increasing at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 20.6% from 434 thousand barrels per day (mbd) in 2018 to 1,214 mbd in 2023, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s report: ‘Pakistan Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2023‘ reveals that the total refining capacity of Pakistan, which was 1.3% of Asia’s total refining capacity in 2018, is expected to rise to 3% in 2023. Pakistan’s planned and announced crude oil refining capacity is expected to increase to 775 mbd in 2023.

Soorya Tejomoortula, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Pakistan is increasing its crude oil refining capacity primarily to reduce its dependence on petroleum products imports.Growing transportation fuel demand in the country is also driving the country’s refinery capacity additions.”

IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION – Please click this link for the chart: ‘Refining Industry, Pakistan, Total Refining Capacity (mbd), 2018–2023’

GlobalData also forecasts that Pakistan’s total crude distillation unit capacity and the hydrocracking capacity are expected to increase, during the outlook period. The hydrocracking unit capacity of the country is set to increase from 22 mbd in 2018 to 116 mbd in 2023. With the start of two announced refineries, Lahore and Khalifa in 2023, the country’s coking capacity and catalytic cracking capacity are expected to be 143 mbd and 215 mbd, respectively.

Pakistan has a total of nine active crude oil refineries, of which, Mouza Kund II, Mahmood Kot and Karachi III are the major active refineries with total refining capacities of 120 mbd, 100 mbd and 65 mbd, respectively, in 2023. Out of the seven planned refineries in Pakistan, Lahore, Khalifa and Karachi IV are the major planned and announced refineries with refining capacities of 300 mbd, 250 mbd and 100 mbd, respectively.