The Hindu : Business : IOC to commission Paradip refinery by early 2012

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Wednesday, Oct 20, 2010
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IOC to commission Paradip refinery by early 2012

Special Correspondent

Entire output will be consumed in domestic market
Rs. 414-crore marketing terminal is being built

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Tuesday said its Rs.29,777-crore Paradip refinery in Orissa would be commissioned by March 2012 and cater more to the domestic market rather than exports due to rise in domestic fuel demand.

“The refinery will start producing fuel by March 2012 when it will commission the primary units like the crude distillation unit.

Secondary units will be commissioned by July, 2012, and operations stabilised by November, 2012,” IOC Director (Refineries) B. N. Bankapur told journalists here. “We will hardly be doing any exports from Paradip as the entire production will be consumed in the domestic market…But with petrol demand growing by 13-14 per cent and diesel by 8-10 per cent, I don't think we will be left with any product to export,” he said.

Initially it was planned that the Paradip refinery would export at least 2.05 million tonnes of petrol and 1.24 lakh tonnes of naphtha out of its yearly output of 15 million tonnes.

The refinery will produce 5.97 million tonnes of diesel, 3.4 million tonnes of petrol, 1.45 million tonnes of kerosene/ATF, 5.36 lakh tonnes of LPG, 1.24 lakh tonnes of naphtha and 3.35 lakh tonnes of sulphur, all of which will be for sale in the domestic market.

Besides the refinery, the Paradip project includes a Rs.1,793-crore pipeline to Raipur and Ranchi.

The 1,100-km pipeline will carry fuel produced in the unit to consumers in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Besides, a marketing terminal at a cost of Rs.414 crore is being built.

Mr. Bankapur pointed out that the company had some time back split the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex into two, deciding to complete the refinery first and follow with the chemical unit. The feasibility of setting up the petrochemical complex would be studied in the next 3-4 months, he added.

The Paradip refinery is being configured to process the toughest, heaviest and dirtiest crude oils that are cheaper than the cleaner and easier varieties.

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