PSO receives first vessel of 55,000MT low-sulfur diesel

KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has received the first 55,000MT low-sulfur diesel vessel from Kuwait, heralding a new era of premium quality diesel in the country with more to follow in the coming months, a statement said on Saturday.

The move comes just two months after the state-run oil marketing company launched higher-grade RON petrol for the first time in Pakistan. Bringing the fuel revolution that it triggered and spearheaded to a full-circle,

The Pakistan State Oil’s new low-sulfur diesel product with 500ppm (as opposed to 10,000ppm that the existing local diesel products from Karachi-based refineries contain), is the first and the only EURO-II compliant diesel to be shortly available in the Pakistani market.

“I congratulate Pakistan State Oil on becoming the first OMC to import the country’s first environment- and vehicle-friendly diesel product, and compliment the company for materialising the vision of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources of improved fuels in the country that has eluded us for decades,” said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources.

“It gives us great satisfaction that the country’s national oil marketing company has played the leading, proactive and responsible role in effectively transforming the country’s fuel landscape within a short span of time,” he added.

With the new diesel product being rolled out, it is expected to assist in improving the environment and
facilitating the climate change commitments of the government in addition to reducing health concerns associated with air pollution, as low-sulfur diesel is expected to significantly improve the air quality.

The resultant emission reductions of hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen by use of low-sulfur diesel will be a huge step forward towards improving the country’s environment, he added.

“With the import of Pakistan’s first low-sulfur diesel vessel, Pakistan State Oil has yet again emerged as an industry leader,” said Sheikh Imran ul Haque, CEO and managing director of Pakistan State Oil.