The story
Engro Corporation was originally incorporated as Esso Pakistan Fertilizer Company in 1965 by Esso Standard Eastern to manufacture fertilizer in Pakistan based on the gas reserves it discovered in 1957 near Daharki, Ghotki District, Sindh. Subsequently, it was listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange with the shareholding pattern of 75 percent owned by Esso (US$19 million) and 25 percent by the general public. A urea plant with a production capacity of 173,000 tons was constructed at the cost of US$42 million. The construction of plant began in 1966 and in 1968 it became operational.
In 1978, Esso's parent company was renamed as Exxon and accordingly Esso in Pakistan was renamed as Exxon Chemical Pakistan.
In 1988, Exxon increased its production capacity to 268,000 tons through debottlenecking.
In 1991, Exxon exited Pakistan and its shareholding of 75 percent was acquired by the employees of Exxon Chemical Pakistan in the management buyout. Two years later, in 1993, Engro relocated a second-hand modular ammonia and urea plant to Pakistan which resulted in an increased annual production capacity of 600,000 tons. Later, another debottlenecking project raised the capacity to 750,000 tons per annum.
In 1998, the Engro Conservation and Expansion of Urea (ECES-850) project was implemented which further expanded urea production capacity to 850,000 tons per year.
In 2010, Engro Chemical Pakistan was renamed as Engro Corporation.
In 2015, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated a case against Engro and several other parties, alleging that the contract for the import and distribution of liquefied natural gas (LNG) awarded to Elengy Terminal in 2013, violated the rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA). NAB also accused the then Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of abusing his authority, which they claimed could result in a potential loss of $2 billion to the national exchequer. Although the case was closed by NAB in 2016, it was reopened in 2018. Engro was exonerated from the case in 2024 and it was declared that "no irregularity, illegal gain or loss to the national exchequer was caused."
Engro was the first Pakistani company to become a signatory of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and adopt the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance on economic, social, and environmental parameters.
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In January 2025, Engro Corporation was merged into Dawood Hercules, which was renamed Engro Holdings Limited. Subsequently, Engro Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Engro Holdings and was delisted from the Pakistan Stock Exchange as a result.
From Wikipedia’s article on Engro Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
