Kuwait Petroleum Corporation received approval to develop an oil refinery in the coastal area of Balochistan in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported. The project will reduce the need to import refined petroleum products to the country.

Kuwait Petroleum had expressed interest in exporting furnace oil and jet fuel as part of an existing arrangement with Pakistan, and the company was looking to install an oil refinery in the coastal area of Balochistan with storage facilities. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), the highest economic decision-making body in Pakistan, approved the Kuwaiti investment bid to build the refinery, according to News Pakistan.

Furthermore, ECC directed Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the state oil marketing giant, to try and persuade Kuwait Petroleum to extend the existing credit facility from 90 to 120 days, to ease pressure on the country’s foreign currency reserves. This request comes as a quid pro quo since ECC permitted imports of furnace oil and jet fuel from Kuwait without resorting to competitive bidding.