Hascol Petroleum Limited has announced that it will expand its operations to include Balochistan keeping in view infrastructure development in Gwadar and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).It has emerged as the first major oil marketing company that has planned to construct an oil storage facility in one year’s time and retail outlets in the province.Company Secretary Zeeshan ul Haq, in a notification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, said, “Hascol Petroleum Limited has entered into a lease agreement with Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited for construction of a storage facility at Mouza Kund, Balochistan.”The storage facility will be constructed by Hascol Petroleum Limited on approximately eight acres of land and is designed to cater to a total capacity of 36,000 tons, comprising 18,000 tons of High Speed Diesel (HSD) and 18,000 tons of Furnace Oil (FO), he said.Once completed, this storage facility will be Hascol’s 10th oil storage unit in the country.The company’s share price rose 0.93%, or Rs2.97, to Rs323.68 with a volume of 315,100 shares on Wednesday.Talking to The Express Tribune, Haq added that the “construction of the oil storage facility is the first major step towards opening retail outlets there.”“Hascol has taken land on 30 years lease from Byco for the storage facility,” he said.He said this was yet the preliminary development. The company may disclose the construction cost of the facility in a day or two and decide as to how many outlets it will operate there.The company has prepared ‘feasibility reports’ before going into the new business. “Furnace oil may be sold to bulk consumers, including power plants,” he said.“Gwadar is just 5 kilometers away from the planned storage facility, which may attract more consumers from CPEC,” said Haq.Published in The Express Tribune, March 9, 2017.Like Business on Facebook , follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.