Soviet Union in the early 1960s offered to assist Pakistan in constructing an oil refinery, with the condition that the facility would exclusively process oil imported from the Soviet Union.[6] In response, the Government of Pakistan approached private sector companies operating in the country, including Shell Pakistan and Esso, proposing a joint venture to build a refinery in Karachi.[6] The private companies, seeking to protect their profits from oil imports, agreed to the government's proposal as an alternative to accepting the Soviet offer.[6] The resulting complex, named Pakistani Oil Refinery, commenced operations in 1964.[6] It was inaugurated by Muhammad Ayub Khan, then President of Pakistan. The design capacity of the refinery was 1 million tons of crude oil per annum but was increased to 2.1 million tons per annum later.[4][3]
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