KARACHI: Byco Oil Pakistan Ltd BOPL, which currently operates a refinery of 35,000 barrels/ day, is setting up the first ever aromatics plant in the country, to produce petrochemicals like benzene, paraxylene and isomer-grade mixed xylene. Alongside, it is also building a second refinery with a capacity of 120,000 barrels/ day, which is expected to be on-stream by end-2011.Aromatics plant will have a capacity to produce 100,000 tons/ year of benzene, 92,000 tons/ year of paraxylene (PX), 80,000 tons/ year of isomer-grade mixed xylene (MX) and 50,000 tons/ year of orthoxylene (OX). 50 percent of this will be sold in domestic markets, while the rest will be exported.Aromatic plant formerly owned by Kuwait Refinery Company has been relocated from Italy, refurbished in Europe and has been repacked and sent to Pakistan. It is expected to be commissioned in mid-2013 at an investment of around US$250 million.Mohammad Wasi Khan, President (Chemical manufacturing) at BOPL said “this plant is basically a petrochemical complex based on processing naphtha. It converts naphtha into benzene, toluene, paraxylene, orthoxylene and isomer-grade mixed xylene. The plant was owned by Kuwait Refinery Company.
“We dismantled the plant and after refurbishing the same in Europe, packed and dispatched it to Pakistan. The plant is on the site now. We will start assembling the plant from first quarter of 2012 and plan to commission this facility by mid-2013”.He said “this plant will be part of existing refinery complex. BYCO Group already operates a 35,000 barrels/ day refinery, about 50kms from Karachi. At same location, we are setting up a new and the country’s largest refinery with a capacity of 120,000 barrels/ day. Petrochemical complex is being set up right next to these two refineries and will obtain its feed stock; naphtha from these two refineries. – Brecorder
