Partners in the planned $850 million hydrocracker project have appointed Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi as the financial adviser to negotiate the debt portion of the finance package. The project, a 50:50 joint venture between Petroleum Refining & Petrochemical Corporation (Perac) and the Sharjah- based Crescent Petroleum Company International, is to be set up through a 80:20 debt/equity finance package.

The new facility will have capacity to refine 239,000 barrels a day of crude oil. A distillation unit will also be installed. It will use fuel from Perac's National Refinery and Pakistan Refinery. The debt will be arranged from international and local banks.

The project is contingent on approval of the Pakistan government. Industry officials say that bureaucratic resistance has been responsible for the lack of new refinery projects which could save more than $200 million a year to the government (MEED 28:8:98).