The Armed Forces of the country have proposed to the government the construction of a 0.7 million tonnes strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) storage at Gwadar, reliable sources informed ProPakistani.
The federal government is planning the establishment of strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) storage facilities with the capacity of two million tonnes, official documents available with the scribe reveal.
The establishment of the 30 days SPR will further boost the country’s fuel storage capacity and will safeguard against supply disruptions at the national level. According to the viewpoint of the Ministry of Defence, supported by the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan military, the new Strategic Petroleum Reserve will enhance the reliability of the army’s petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) support.
The Ministry of Energy has suggested the construction of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with a storage capacity of two million tonnes. Of the proposed storage, Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage of one million tonnes will be established at Hub. There is also a proposal for the establishment of 1 million tonnes SPR at Karachi and Mehmood Kot. Out of the one million tonnes proposed SPR, storage with the capacity of 0.7 million tonnes will be established at Karachi while storage with the capacity of 0.3 million tonnes will be constructed at Mehmood Kot, the documents revealed.
The GHQ has observed that most of the storage facilities have been proposed around Karachi enhancing the vulnerability as well as compounding existing congestion in the port city. It has been proposed that diversification of storage facilities along the coastal belt and upcountry may be considered.
The GHQ has suggested developing SPR storage with the capacity of 0.7 million tonnes at Gwadar Port along the oil jetty. The construction of the storage facility will help the country strategically and will reduce congestion in Karachi.
It has been claimed that the construction of the storage will also help to improve the efficiency of Gwadar port. It has been further proposed to link the planned storage facility with Karachi and Mehmood Kot through a pipeline for the upward supply of the imported fuel.
