ISLAMABAD-Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif Friday approved the establishment of a refinery in the country with an estimated cost of $10 to $14 billion.
Briefing the media regarding the decisions taken during a Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) meeting here, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik said that to address the country's energy requirements Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved the establishment of a refinery in the country.
The new refinery is expected to cost between Rs10-14 billion, he said. By establishing such a huge refinery, a new energy city will be developed, the minister added. He emphasized the significance of energy for economic development and expressed his optimism that this new initiative would propel Pakistan towards progress.
Pakistan would soon receive its first shipment of inexpensive oil from Russia, said the minister while referring to PM Shehbaz's announcement made the other day.
It was the present government that had managed to secure a deal with Moscow, in contrast to the previous government's noisy propaganda, he added.
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The second decision taken by the CCoE is related to discontinuation of gas supply to some power plants, he informed.
The government has decided to stop supplying gas to power plants which are getting cheap gas and providing expensive electricity to the national grid.
The government would provide 50 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to low-income households instead of providing it to such power plants, he said.
Some 550,000 households will benefit from this gas, he said. "We will take back cheap gas from the wealthy and provide it to the poor," the minister added.