Pakistan’s Attock refinery will shut in a week if the local demand does not recover following the lockdown as an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The refinery has closed its main plant, only operating its two small units to produce 54,000 bpd or 29% of the nameplate capacity. If demand does not recover in a week, the refinery will completely be shut.
Previously, the country’s largest refiner Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd. stopped crude processing on its 155,000 bpd refinery and put it on cold circulation to support the quick restart of the refinery when demand recovers.
The National Refinery Ltd. also stopped its 64,000 bpd plant last Wednesday.
The Pakistani government had asked fuel retailers and refiners to cancel crude and products’ imports starting in April. Pakistan also asked oil marketing companies to increase purchases from national refiners to ensure the continuation of operations.
