ISLAMABAD, Jan 12 (APP): Engro Elengy Terminal (Private) Limited (EETL) on Thursday said it had successfully handled over 450 ship-to-ship [LNG] transfers since 2015, enabling Pakistan to save more than $3 billion through import substitution of the Furnace Oil (FO).
“In 2015, Engro developed the first-ever LNG terminal facility of Pakistan, built in a record 335 days. The terminal currently handles 68% of all LNG imports into Pakistan and now fulfills around 15 per cent of the country’s daily domestic gas requirement,” the company said in a news release issued here.
Engro Corporation, Pakistan’s premier conglomerate, and Royal Vopak of the Netherlands – the world’s largest bulk liquid storage and handling company – have recently celebrated 25 years of a strategic partnership that has led to mutual growth and helped promote energy security and industrialization in Pakistan.
Engro’s business relationship with Royal Vopak dates back to 1997 when the joint venture of Engro Vopak Terminal Limited (EVTL) was commissioned as a state-of-the-art chemical storage and handling business at Port Qasim, Karachi.
The relationship between Engro and Royal Vopak of the Netherlands was further strengthened in 2018 when Royal Vopak acquired a total 44 per cent shareholding of Elengy Terminal Pakistan Ltd (ETPL) to enhance its global LNG portfolio.
The EVTL is the only facility in Pakistan that combines services for bulk storage of chemicals, cryogenic and LPG gases all under one operation.
The terminal operations have grown from handling 0.5 million tons of specialized and hazardous bulk liquid cargoes to around 6 million tons per annum.
Since its inception, it has facilitated investments of more than $2 billion in the downstream petrochemical industry. The EVTL provides for over 60 per cent of Pakistan’s bulk chemical imports and about 55% of LPG marine imports. “Therefore, this venture stands as a key enabler for major industrial activities in Pakistan and helps contribute towards energy security that serves over 1 million households,” the company said.
It said the EVTL and EETL safely handled almost $4 billion of feedstock and products on an annual basis, without any incidents related to product contamination or loss, health, and the environment.
“The business has operated without a lost-time injury (LTI) for the last 25 years, which is an impeccable safety record even by global standards.”
To mark the 25th anniversary of Engro and Royal Vopak partnership, Chairman Executive Board and CEO of Royal Vopak, Dick Richelle and President, Vopak Asia & Middle East, Chris Robblee toured Pakistan to meet partner Engro Corporation, headed by Engro’s President and CEO Ghias Khan and senior executives. They also visited the terminal facilities at Port Qasim and remained engaged with the employees as well.
Ghias Khan said “This partnership is very special and … very successful in all dimensions. We are now looking forward to greater things not just in Pakistan, but internationally as well. What we value the most about this relationship is the mutual respect and trust, and the desire to learn from each other.”
Dick Richelle said “We have had many partnerships around the globe for quite some time, but what we have in Pakistan is very special. We are not only celebrating 25 years of partnership between Vopak and Engro, but its 25 years of friendship between the two companies.”