Pakistan regulator withholds full operating licence from Byco
21 March 2013
Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has refused to allow full operations to take place at Byco’s Single Point Mooring facility off its new refinery in Hub, near Karachi, in the absence of a clearance certificate from an international oil spill control agency.
Despite pressure from the Government to allow the facility’s use, Ogra says a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the agency is necessary to confirm potential oil leak risks are under control.
Byco Oil Pakistan Limited recently completed work on the new refinery with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day situated close to the company’s first 35,000 bpd capacity refinery in Hub, Balochistan.
According to the company, the new refinery, with 40% foreign investment, cost about $700 million and the Single Point Mooring $90 million.
Byco had earlier been allowed to operate the Single Point Mooring – the first such facility in the country – for testing purposes, and it also handled some crude oil consignments.
“Byco has come up with the demand that it should be allowed to run full-fledged operations without seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) as representatives of the international oil spill control agency are reluctant to visit Pakistan due to poor law and order conditions,” an Ogra official told The Express Tribune.