Bhatinda refinery capacity can be doubled in future: Mittal
28 April 2012 3:01 PM GMT
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the Rs 21,500 crore, 9 million tonne a year Guru Gobind Singh Refinery here, Indian-origin billionaire Lakshmi N Mittal said the unit will aid India's energy security and make Punjab a petrochemical hub.
'The capacity of the refinery can be increased to 18 million tonne per annum in future,' he said of his first downstream oil venture in the country. He added that the refinery will feed fuel into the deficit markets of northern India.
At the function, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the unit to the nation.
The refinery is the first investment in downstream oil sector by Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker.
Mittal Energy has a venture with state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which has offshore oil exploration blocks in Nigeria.
HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture of Mittal Energy Investments and state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), was built in 42 months. HPCL and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore - a Lakshmi Mittal Group company, hold 49 per cent stake each in HMEL, while 2 per cent is held by financial institutions.
Crude oil is to be ferried to the refinery via a 1,014 km pipeline from Mundra in Gujarat where the oil is imported from abroad. The refinery has high Nelson Complexity Index which will enable maximising value-added products even from heavy/sour crude.
The new unit has raised the total oil refining capacity in the country to 213 million tonne per annum, from 198.886 million tonne.
The launch of the Bhatinda refinery will help boost India's exports and may open fuel sales to Pakistan, which allows imports of fuels including petrol and diesel from India since it removed non-tariff barriers on November 2, 2011. The distance between Bhatinda and Pakistan's Lahore is about 160 km.
'The capacity of the refinery can be increased to 18 million tonne per annum in future,' he said of his first downstream oil venture in the country. He added that the refinery will feed fuel into the deficit markets of northern India.
At the function, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the unit to the nation.
The refinery is the first investment in downstream oil sector by Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker.
Mittal Energy has a venture with state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which has offshore oil exploration blocks in Nigeria.
HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture of Mittal Energy Investments and state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), was built in 42 months. HPCL and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore - a Lakshmi Mittal Group company, hold 49 per cent stake each in HMEL, while 2 per cent is held by financial institutions.
Crude oil is to be ferried to the refinery via a 1,014 km pipeline from Mundra in Gujarat where the oil is imported from abroad. The refinery has high Nelson Complexity Index which will enable maximising value-added products even from heavy/sour crude.
The new unit has raised the total oil refining capacity in the country to 213 million tonne per annum, from 198.886 million tonne.
The launch of the Bhatinda refinery will help boost India's exports and may open fuel sales to Pakistan, which allows imports of fuels including petrol and diesel from India since it removed non-tariff barriers on November 2, 2011. The distance between Bhatinda and Pakistan's Lahore is about 160 km.
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