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SC Media Centre - Indus Refinery Limited (IRL)

Second and Third Shipments of Indus Refinery arrives at Port Qasim

Karachi: June 18, 2007 - The Indus Refinery Limited (IRL) a joint venture project between US and UK Middle East based investors and Pakistani sponsors, today announced the arrival of second and third shipments of Refinery equipment which arrived in Pakistan's southern Port Qasim in the third week of May and 2nd week of June 2007.

The shipments included refinery equipment for the 100,000 barrel per day petroleum refinery located on the main National Highway near Karachi is expected to facilitate construction to go into full swing.

Mr. Peter J. Hamill, CEO of Indus Refinery Limited while commenting on the arrival of the second shipment said, "I am pleased to apprise all our stake holders that the Indus Refinery project is heading in the right direction with 65% of the refinery equipment having already arrived in Pakistan. The civil works on the project, under the supervision of SNC-LAVALIN, Canada by DESCON Engineering has started at the refinery site, and full-fledged construction is expected to begin at an accelerated pace."

During construction of the refinery, the project will provide over 5,000 thousand jobs for both skilled and unskilled Pakistanis and when completed in early 2009 it will provide over eight hundred permanent skilled jobs.

IRL as a Pakistani Public Limited Company has taken the initiative to relocate, reconstruct and operate a state-of-the-art refinery to become the sixth petroleum refinery in Pakistan, enabling it to be one of the top two largest refineries in the country. The IRL refinery has a design capacity of 100,000 BPCD, which is equal to the country's current largest refinery.

Mr. Muhammad Sohail Shamsi, Chairman of Indus Refinery Limited said "The refinery is being constructed to produce maximum yields of the deficit products requirements of Pakistan, with any surplus to be exported. Thus the country will save on foreign exchange in term of import substitution and it will also earn from the export of surplus products."

He further stated, "By the end of 2009 this mega project would produce 30,000 barrels more, which will further strengthen the company's position in the sector."

As a fuel refinery, IRL will produce Propane, Butane, LPG, High Quality Unleaded Gasoline, Kerosene, Aviation Fuels, Low Sulphur High Speed Diesel. The foreign shareholders have 89.33% shareholding in the company while the local sponsors have a 10.67% shareholding. As a result of its low capital investment cost, latest production technology, and economies of scale, IRL will have a competitive edge over existing refineries.