Hascol receives 25,000 tons furnace oil import contact

Aftab Ahmed

Islamabad: Hascol gets a contract of importing 25000 metric tons of furnace oil for a supply to K-Electric.

Hascol is an oil-importing company in the private sector that is importing furnace oil to meet the demand of KE.

It is going to import 25000 metric tons of furnace oil on behalf of K-Electric.

Sources told Newztodays.com that Hascol had already permission of importing furnace oil. Meanwhile, the government had also allowed arranging 50,000 metric tons of furnace oil on its own to meet the rising demand for electricity due to dry docking of the Engro LNG terminal.

In light of the developing situation on fuel supply to the country, K-Electric has secured the supply of 25000 metric tonnes (MT) of furnace oil to ensure that all available generation capacity is maximized. The shipment is expected to enter Pakistan’s waters around first July.

The effort to secure this supply required significant inter-ministerial support and coordination and KE’s urgent response to manage the precarious situation reflects the utility’s commitment to serving its customers.

K-Electric thanked the Ministry of Energy Petroleum Division for their quick approval of KE’s request, and the Power Division for expedited processing. Upon arrival, the ship will require the support of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to allow early docking on a fast-track basis to enable the fuel to be discharged. PSO’s network will be used to channel the supply to K-Electric’s storage facilities.

CEO K-Electric, Moonis Alvi commented, “KE is grateful for the support from all departments and ministries. If these prompt and urgent measures go as planned and there is no reduction in the supply of gas to KE below already restricted levels, it will enable us to continue providing a stable supply of power to Karachi.

The addition of this stock will replenish our fuel inventory to safe stock levels and ensure that generation is not curtailed because of fuel supply shortfalls. KE is committed to effectively managing the developing situation to the best extent to minimize inconvenience to our customers.”

The fuel supply will allow KE to manage Karachi’s demand, and restrict load-shed as per policy only to areas with high line losses with a maximum duration in the highest loss areas at 7.5 hours. A schedule of such areas is available on the KE website.

In isolated cases, there may be temporary disruption due to remedial maintenance work. Prior information of such shutdowns is shared with customers registered via 8119 SMS service. The utility emphasized that such shutdowns should not be construed as load-shed.