SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017
LOCAL
In Brief
Kuwaitis safe
BERLIN: The Kuwaiti Consulate General to
Germany has assured safety of all Kuwaitis living in
the German western city of Dusseldorf which witnessed an attach late Thursday. The Frankfurtbased Consulate is in contact permanently with
the German authorities in the city to make sure
that all Kuwaitis are safe, the consulate said on
Friday. The Consulate appealed to Kuwaiti citizens
to keep in touch with the emergency room set by
the consulate through phone numbers at
00496975937270 and 004915208001100. A mentally ill man attacked Dusseldorf’s main train station, injuring nine people. — KUNA
Integration project
Oil price down
LONDON: Amec Foster Wheeler on Friday said it
had won separate contracts in Brunei and Kuwait
for undisclosed values. The first contract is for five
years with Brunei Shell Petroleum for the rejuvenation of assets in Brunei. There are two one-year
options to extend, and includes Brunei Shell
Petroleum’s oil and gas assets in the South China
Sea. The second contract is for six years with
Petrochemical Industries Company, a subsidiary of
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), for the integration project between its Olefins III, Aromatics II
and Zour Refinery in Kuwait. —London South East
KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil went down by
$1.23 to $49 per barrel Friday after being at $50.23
the day before, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)
said yesterday. At the global level, the price went
down due to fears that the production decrease, led
by major world procedures and OPEC, was not bringing the global supplies down to normal levels. The
Brent crude went down by 82 cents to reach $51.37
per barrel, the same case with the American crude,
which went down to $48.49 pb. — KUNA
Photo
o f
t h e
d a y
KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti shepherd watches over his caravan of camels in the Kuwaiti desert, 65 kilometers South of Kuwait City, on March 10, 2017. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Kuwait agrees to build oil pipeline in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Kuwait has agreed to pour
millions of dollars into building a white oil
pipeline from Pakistan’s south to north for
transporting petroleum products from the
port city of Karachi to major consumer
Punjab. “During a recent visit to Kuwait,
Pakistani officials invited the Gulf oil producer to set up an oil refinery in Balochistan
and lay a white oil pipeline; its response was
very positive and a high-level Kuwaiti delegation will arrive in Pakistan to discuss the
two projects,” said an official aware of the
development.
Big supplier
Traditionally, Kuwait has been a big supplier of oil to Pakistan. At present, a white oil
pipeline is being run by Pak-Arab Pipeline
Company Limited (Papco). The pipeline
takes diesel to central regions of Pakistan,
which account for almost 60 percent of total
petroleum consumption in the country.
Pak Arab Refinery Limited (Parco) holds
51 percent majority stake in Papco whereas
Shell, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Total Parco
Pakistan Limited - formerly Chevron Pakistan
Limited - have 26 percent, 12 percent and 11
percent shareholding, respectively. Another
source of oil transportation from Karachi to
the upcountry is tank lorries, but it is
plagued with incidents of theft. Estimates
suggest $200 million worth of oil is stolen
every year in connivance with lorry drivers.
“The second white oil pipeline will not only
protect environment, but it will also be a
safe source of fuel supply,” the official said.
Refinery
Pakistan and Kuwait have already been
working on setting up the oil refinery in
Balochistan and during recent engagements
the Arab nation again underlined the importance of establishing the refinery to meet
Pakistan’s energy requirements.
Pakistan has given the go-ahead to
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for developing the refinery project in the coastal area of
Balochistan - a welcome investment initiative for the largely under-developed
province, which will reduce the need for
import of refined petroleum products.
The Economic Coordination Committee
(ECC) of the cabinet has also permitted
import of furnace oil and jet fuel from
Kuwait without resorting to competitive bidding. At present, PSO imports diesel from
the Gulf Arab state on a 90-day credit facility.
Before the year 2000, Pakistan purchased
diesel from Kuwait under a long-term contract with its government. However, in the
wake of market deregulation, Pakistan in
2001-02 asked PSO to enter into a fuel sup-
Kuwaiti honored obligations
for women: Leading activist
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Government has hon- women, for their part, have proven to be
ored all international obligations toward capable of shouldering responsibilities and
playing active roles in the
women, says Chairperson of
Kuwaiti community, as well as
the Kuwaiti Woman Affairs
being partners in decision
Committee Sheikha Latifa Almaking.
Fahad Al-Salem Al-Sabah.
The female citizens aspire
Sheikha Latifa made the stateto make more accomplishment upon her departure to
ments such as stopping all
New York, along with an
forms of domestic violence,
accompanying committee delsays Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad in
egation, to take part in the
her departure statement. She
61st session of the UN’s
is scheduled to address the
Commission on the Status of
international commission
Women (CSW), which kicked
off later yesterday and pro- Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad about Kuwait’s experience in
supporting the women, such
ceeds till March 26th.
Al-Salem Al-Sabah
as formation of a special tribuThe Government of the
State of Kuwait is exerting enormous efforts to nal for family affairs. Moreover, she will urge
bolster women’s role and furnish this gender for halting violence against the women in
of the society with health and medical care as troubled Arab countries. The State of Kuwait
well as securing an honorable living for them, has been chosen as member of the commisSheikh Latifa has affirmed. The Kuwaiti sion with a four-year term. —KUNA
ply contract with Kuwait Petroleum.
Immediately after that, the two sides inked
an agreement for the sale and purchase of
high-speed diesel with payment guarantees from the government of Pakistan. This
agreement has been in place for the past
around 15 years. Earlier, Kuwait Petroleum
had expressed interest in exporting furnace
oil and jet fuel as well as part of the existing
arrangement and was looking to install an
oil refiner y in the coastal area of
Balochistan with storage facilities.
Demand
At present, the annual demand for petroleum products in Pakistan stands at around
23 million tons and it is expected to touch
27 million tons by 2020. Of the total volume,
the demand for 10 million tons, or 44 percent, is met by domestic refineries whereas
13 million tons (56 percent) are imported.
More than two-thirds of the crude
processed by local refineries is brought
through imports. In financial year 2015, the
refineries processed around 3.9 million tons
(32 percent) of crude oil produced in the
country and 8.2 million tons (68 percent) of
imported oil.—The Express Tribune