A senior Pakistani official has said that Saudi Aramco will no longer be investing in the planned 300,000 b/d Gwadar refinery. An MoU worth $9.9bn had been signed during Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s February 2019 visit to Pakistan, but while Gwadar is an integral part of the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor the refining project’s viability had always looked questionable (MEES, 22 February 2019).

Now, Tabish Gauhar, Special Assistant on Power and Petroleum to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has told local media that Aramco has nixed the project. Mr Gauhar is hopeful that Aramco will invest in developing a refinery close to Karachi. (CONTINUED - 186 WORDS)