New Delhi: Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has advised oil companies to gear up their emergency response mechanism following a review of the impact of floods especially in Gujarat on oil installations and supply of products including natural gas.

As a result of the floods, it is estimated that the country is suffering a revenue loss of Rs. 20 crore per day due to the closure of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's Hazira gas processing complex.

He told the oil companies to respond to restoring operations at the earliest opportunity, an official release said.

Mr. Deora also took stock of operations to restore normality and noted that oil refineries in Gujarat have been working normally even though the flood situation continues to be grim in Hazira.

The Hazira- Vijaipur- Jagdishpur pipeline remains closed but supplies to the priority sectors especially for compressed natural gas (CNG) use in Delhi are being maintained from stocks available and are likely to remain unaffected, it is stated.

The minister expressed satisfaction over the fact that supplies of petroleum products have been maintained with minimum disruption and also on the steps taken to minimise the impact to the extent possible on gas supply along the HVJ pipeline. On the losses to the ONGC, it is stated that a loss of about 700 tonnes of oil production has been caused in Mehsana due to electrical trippings and short circuit.

The ONGC hopes to resume gas processing at the Hazira plant by early next week. It had to shut its Bassein, B-55 and Panna-Mukta and Tapti gas fields on August 8 as the Hazira complex was flooded. About 40.5 million standard cubic metres a day of natural gas went out of the system as a result of the closure, affecting operations of industries.

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