Pakistan's proposed $3.5 billion Falcon Oils Refinery & Storage Complex at Dhabeji, District Thatta, has cleared a key institutional hurdle after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Secretariat endorsed the project and formally asked the Board of Investment (BoI) to place it before the Joint Working Group on Industrial Cooperation. The development could mark one of the country's largest privately sponsored industrial investments in recent years and represents a significant push towards attracting private-sector capital into Pakistan's petroleum and energy infrastructure.

According to an Office Memorandum issued by the CPEC Secretariat at the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives on August 24, 2026, Falcon Oils (Pvt) Limited has proposed a 100,000 barrels-per-day deep-conversion refinery, alongside a major petroleum storage complex and captive power generation facility. The memorandum supports the project's inclusion in the CPEC framework as a business-to-business initiative, in line with the second phase of CPEC and the government's stated emphasis on greater private-sector collaboration.

The proposed complex is expected to include 4 million tonnes of crude and petroleum-product storage capacity and a 50MW captive power plant. The refinery is planned to produce Euro-V-compliant fuels, potentially strengthening domestic refining capacity while reducing reliance on imported finished petroleum products. The project has also secured an established Chinese technical and engineering partnership, with feasibility studies and engineering arrangements finalized through major international firms.

For Pakistan, the project could have broader implications for the country's energy security by shifting a portion of the petroleum import bill away from finished products towards crude oil. Falcon Oils stated that the refinery and storage complex will be developed and financed entirely by private sponsors on a fully non-recourse basis, with no sovereign guarantee. Company CEO Sirhaan Ahmed Khan described the endorsement as a milestone for the venture.