Attock Refinery plans 50,000-barrel-per-day deep-conversion refinery

Attock Refinery Limited said it plans a new 50,000-barrel-per-day deep-conversion refinery, subject to sustainable crude supplies from northern Pakistan and government support, as FY26 capacity utilization rose to 71% from 69% a year earlier, according to its annual report posted Monday.

What is Attock Refinery's 50,000-barrel-per-day refinery plan?

ARL plans to establish a 50,000-barrel-per-day deep-conversion greenfield refinery if sustainable additional crude supplies from northern Pakistan become available and the government provides necessary support. The proposed plant would be nearly the size of ARL's existing refinery, which has a nameplate capacity of about 53,400 barrels per day.

ARL has previously linked further investment and expansion to sustainable local crude availability, petroleum-product demand, future fuel specifications and government policy.

The refinery operated at about 71% of capacity during the fiscal year ended June 2026, up from 69% a year earlier.

Throughput increased to 1.73 million metric tons from 1.66 million metric tons in FY25.

During the final quarter, ARL began receiving crude from a newly discovered oil reserve. The company said sustained availability of the local crude could support higher refinery utilization going forward.

However, crude distillation units were partially shut down on several occasions because of lower domestic product offtake.

Product supplies totaled 1.55 million metric tons, while about 172,500 metric tons of low-sulfur fuel oil were exported to offset weak domestic demand for furnace oil.

What will Attock Refinery's USD 600 million upgrade change?

ARL said its planned refinery upgrade under Pakistan’s amended brownfield refinery policy represents a key strategic development, with estimated investment of about USD 600 million.

The project is designed to improve product yields and quality and strengthen the refinery’s long-term competitiveness.

Its scope includes installation of a Continuous Catalyst Regeneration unit and a kerosene hydrotreater, along with revamping the existing Diesel Hydrodesulfurization unit and expanding and upgrading utilities and related facilities.

The CCR unit is expected to increase premium motor gasoline production by about 25%, improve gasoline-pool octane to meet Euro-V specifications and eliminate reliance on octane-boosting additives and naphtha exports.

The DHDS revamp is expected to reduce high-speed diesel sulfur content from 350 parts per million to 10 parts per million, enabling production of Euro-V-compliant diesel.

How far has Attock Refinery's upgrade progressed?

Licensor front-end engineering and design studies for the CCR and DHDS projects have been completed, while ARL has appointed Italy’s Studi Tecnologie Progetti S.p.A. (STP) for FEED and project management consultancy services.

The overall FEED package is about 90% complete, with deliverables covering management, process, mechanical, civil, electrical and instrumentation disciplines being finalized.

ARL has also begun the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning tendering process.

Expressions of interest have been sent to potential EPCC contractors, with the company reporting positive responses from leading international firms. Cost estimation and tender preparation are progressing in parallel.

ARL said the availability of newly discovered local crude during the final quarter of FY26 could help improve utilization, although continued crude availability and domestic product demand remain important factors for sustained refinery operations.