Flagship refiner IndianOil is in sight of opening a passage to Pakistan with its petrochemicals and base oils used for making lubricants but chances of Indian motor fuels flowing into that country still remain distant, oil ministry sources said.
At his meeting with oil minister Murli Deora on the sidelines of the 14th Saarc summit, Pakistan prime minister Shaukat Aziz sought a detailed note on IndianOil's proposal to supply petrochem, particularly PTA (an ingredient for making plastics), and lubricant-making oils from the company's Panipat refinery.
Since Pakistan freely allows import of these items, Aziz is reported to have said he saw "no problem"in sourcing them from India.
IndianOil chairman Sarthak Behuria impressed upon the Aziz Pakistan's advantage in sourcing these items from Panipat.
Pakistan now imports PTA at the Karachi port and has to haul it across great distances to upcountry consumption centres.
Importing from Panipat will save on freight as the refinery is close to Pakistan's consumption centres, particularly Lahore, and is well connected by road and rail.
IndianOil had last year exported a shipment of base oils to Pakistan from its Haldia refinery. "As a business strategy, our aim is to export lubes base and PTA — once the cracker unit gets going — from Panipat. IndianOil can supply these through rail or road transport which will be more economical for Pakistan than importing at the Karachi port,"said B M Bansal, the man incharge of seeking new business for IndianOil.
Some infrastructure for transferring the items from containers to storage tanks etc have to be created on the Pakistan side. IndianOil is seeking Islamabad's help in getting that, the ministry sources said.
At his meeting with oil minister Murli Deora on the sidelines of the 14th Saarc summit, Pakistan prime minister Shaukat Aziz sought a detailed note on IndianOil's proposal to supply petrochem, particularly PTA (an ingredient for making plastics), and lubricant-making oils from the company's Panipat refinery.
Since Pakistan freely allows import of these items, Aziz is reported to have said he saw "no problem"in sourcing them from India.
IndianOil chairman Sarthak Behuria impressed upon the Aziz Pakistan's advantage in sourcing these items from Panipat.
Pakistan now imports PTA at the Karachi port and has to haul it across great distances to upcountry consumption centres.
Importing from Panipat will save on freight as the refinery is close to Pakistan's consumption centres, particularly Lahore, and is well connected by road and rail.
IndianOil had last year exported a shipment of base oils to Pakistan from its Haldia refinery. "As a business strategy, our aim is to export lubes base and PTA — once the cracker unit gets going — from Panipat. IndianOil can supply these through rail or road transport which will be more economical for Pakistan than importing at the Karachi port,"said B M Bansal, the man incharge of seeking new business for IndianOil.
Some infrastructure for transferring the items from containers to storage tanks etc have to be created on the Pakistan side. IndianOil is seeking Islamabad's help in getting that, the ministry sources said.
