Minister: SOCAR exploring investment opportunities in construction of oil pipeline in Pakistan

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is considering participation as an investor in an oil pipeline construction project in Pakistan, the country's Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said in an interview with Report.

"At this point in time, what I can say is that a company like SOCAR is looking at an oil pipeline and coming in as a possible investor. Early days, discussions are still underway, but that's one of the first projects that we are hoping can cross the finishing line," he noted.

On February 24, during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's official visit to Azerbaijan, documents previously signed between the two countries on expanding bilateral cooperation, including in the oil sector, were exchanged.

The memorandum of understanding signed by SOCAR with the engineering and construction organization Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) provides for cooperation on the Machike-Thallian-Taru Jabba White Oil Pipeline project. This oil pipeline will connect Pakistan's Port Qasim with the Pak-Arab Refinery in Qasba Gujrat (Multan District, Punjab, Pakistan).

According to the memorandum, SOCAR has been invited as a potential shareholder in this project, which aims to connect Pakistan's northern regions with the pipeline infrastructure of the rest of the country.

The 477-kilometer pipeline will connect key settlements, including Machike, Thallian, and Taru Jabba, significantly increasing the efficiency of petroleum product transportation. The pipeline's initial capacity is 7 million tons per year, with the potential to expand to 10 million tons.

Full interview is available here