Cnergyico, ARL, NRL ink refinery upgrade agreements with govt

Cnergyico, Attock Refinery and National Refinery have signed upgrade agreements with Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS), a state-owned gas company, Business Recorder reported. The deals were struck in Islamabad and cover projects to modernise existing plants under the amended 2023 refinery policy. The three listed refineries disclosed the signings in notices to the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

ISGS was designated by the Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Energy as the implementing entity for upgrading existing refineries. Cnergyico said the agreement covers execution of its approved upgrade project and pledged to modernise in line with the policy. Attock Refinery called the signing a key step toward Euro-V standard fuels and better product quality, while National Refinery pointed to stronger supply-chain resilience.

The 2023 policy was introduced to bring existing refineries closer to international fuel standards and cleaner fuel output. In August, five refineries, PARCO, PRL, NRL, Cnergyico and ARL, had committed to sign early the following month, which was expected to unlock roughly $6 billion of investment. A September decision by the Federal Cabinet then set October 1, 2026 as the deadline, moved signing to the Ministry of Energy instead of OGRA, and introduced penalties such as a reduced deemed duty on HSD for missing it.