Interview with Mr. Mohammad Wasi Khan, an independent consultant in the oil and energy sector
Profile:
Mr Mohammad Wasi Khan is an independent consultant in the oil and energy sector, advising clients across Pakistan and the broader region on downstream oil strategy, refinery upgrades, trading dynamics, and energy transition opportunities. With over four decades of industry experience, he has held senior leadership positions across refining, oil marketing, trading, and infrastructure development. He previously served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Cnergyico Pk Limited. Prior to that, he spent 25 years at National Refinery Limited (NRL), where he served as Deputy Managing Director. Mr. Khan has led several major expansions, infrastructure projects, and operational improvements. A number of growth-oriented initiatives and strategic developments stand to his credit, reflecting his longstanding commitment to advancing Pakistan’s downstream oil sector.
PAGE: Tell me something about yourself, please:
Mohammad Wasi Khan: My professional journey has largely remained within the downstream oil sector, starting from refinery operations and business and gradually expanding into oil marketing, trading, infrastructure development and corporate leadership. This has given me the opportunity to experience the industry from both operational and strategic perspectives. Presently, I remain associated with the sector as an independent consultant, advising on technical, commercial and strategic matters.
PAGE: What is your take on the recent developments in the oil & gas industry?
Mohammad Wasi Khan: The oil and gas industry is going through an unusually challenging period. The US-Iran conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz have once again demonstrated that energy security is not simply about availability of crude oil. Refining capacity, product availability, shipping routes, storage and logistics are equally important. While crude flows from the Gulf have recovered considerably, refined products, particularly diesel, continue to remain constrained.
For Pakistan, there have also been some important developments. The refinery upgrade programme is finally moving forward, which can bring major investment, cleaner fuels, increased petrol and diesel production and substantially lower furnace oil production. A second very important development is the introduction of daily petroleum pricing, which is a significant move towards a more market-responsive system. Third, the long-awaited work on assessing Strategic Petroleum Reserves has also started.
These are positive developments. However, I believe the next important step should be genuine deregulation of the downstream oil sector. Daily pricing should be viewed as a step in that direction rather than an end in itself. A competitive market, with effective regulatory oversight, should increasingly allow prices and commercial decisions to be determined by market forces rather than administrative interventions.
PAGE: What is your perspective about the oil prices in the wake of the US-Iran war?
Mohammad Wasi Khan: The conflict has clearly added a substantial risk premium to oil prices. Although Middle Eastern crude flows have recovered considerably, prices remain elevated and volatile because the market continues to factor in the possibility of further disruption.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Producers and traders have adapted through alternative arrangements such as pipelines, terminals and ship-to-ship transfers, but these come with additional freight, insurance, security and logistical costs. Significant global inventories have also been drawn down during this period.
Oil prices are therefore likely to remain highly sensitive to developments in the region. A sustained de-escalation at the war front could remove part of the geopolitical premium, while renewed disruption could again push prices sharply upward. In the immediate future, geopolitical developments rather than normal supply demand fundamentals are likely to remain a major influence on oil prices.
PAGE: Flows of diesel and other refined fuels remain constrained due to the conflict. What is your take?
Mohammad Wasi Khan: I would rate this as more concerning than crude oil availability itself. What we see now is that crude flows from the Gulf have recovered substantially, but diesel and other finished product flows remain considerably below pre-conflict levels.
There is a basic reason for this. Crude can increasingly be rerouted through alternative pipelines and terminals, whereas finished products depend upon operating refineries, segregated storage, product pipelines, terminals and suitable vessels. Disruption to refining capacity therefore cannot be compensated for as easily as rerouting crude. This is why the present crisis has increasingly shifted from a crude supply problem towards a refined-product and logistics problem.
For Pakistan, this reinforces the importance of maintaining a strong domestic refining industry. Once the refinery upgrade projects are completed, domestic production of petrol and diesel should increase considerably and dependence on imported finished products should reduce. Recent events have clearly demonstrated that importing crude and refining it domestically provides greater supply security than excessive dependence on imported finished products.
PAGE: In view of the current geopolitical uncertainties, what should Pakistan do to strengthen its energy security and reduce its vulnerability to disruptions in crude oil and petroleum product supplies?
Mohammad Wasi Khan: The recent crisis has again highlighted Pakistan’s vulnerability as an importer largely operating on a need basis for crude oil and petroleum products. We need to move beyond managing individual supply crises and develop a long-term energy security framework.
A key requirement is Strategic Petroleum Reserves, with an appropriate mix of crude oil and critical petroleum products. These should be supported by larger coastal storage, adequate inland stocks and efficient pipeline connectivity. Crude sourcing should also be diversified so that dependence on any single region or supply route is reduced.
In the longer term, I believe Pakistan should move towards an integrated crude and petroleum logistics system linking offshore receiving facilities, large-scale storage, refineries and the national pipeline network. Rather than handling crude imports, storage and distribution largely as separate activities, these should form part of one coordinated national system. This would provide greater flexibility in crude procurement, allow larger and more economical cargoes, improve inventory management and provide a much stronger response capability during supply disruptions.
Ultimately, Pakistan needs to move from managing petroleum imports on a largely transactional and need basis to a more strategic crude and petroleum management system.